Judge rules Justice Department can keep seized Fulton County ballots

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized by the FBI from a Fulton County warehouse. 

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee denied a motion from county officials to have the materials returned, effectively allowing a federal criminal investigation into the 2020 election to continue. 

Federal court ruling

What we know:

Judge J.P. Boulee decided the federal government may maintain possession of over 600 boxes of physical ballots and electronic records seized Jan. 28. The court found that Fulton County failed to prove federal agents acted with "callous disregard" for the law when they obtained a search warrant for the warehouse. 

County lawyers argued the seizure was a "pretext" to avoid costs in other civil cases and interfered with state sovereignty. However, the judge ruled that because the county already has digital copies of the records, they will not suffer "irreparable injury" while the investigation proceeds. 

Federal election investigation

What we don't know:

The Justice Department has not announced if any specific individuals will face criminal charges related to the 2020 election. While the FBI is investigating "irregularities," the court noted that several official reports previously found no evidence of intentional fraud or malfeasance by Fulton County election officials. 

It is also unclear how much longer the federal government will hold the original records. The judge noted that a lengthy retention without bringing charges could potentially lead to a different ruling in the future. 

Rob Pitts responds

What they're saying:

Fulton Coutny Chair Robb Pitts responded to the ruling late Wednesday, writing:

"I certainly agree with the court that the FBI warrant affidavit was ‘defective,’ ‘problematic’ and ‘troubling,’ and that the events in this case are ‘unprecedented.’ But I strongly disagree with the judge’s denial of Fulton County’s request for the FBI to return the election records it wrongly seized on January 28.

"Our fight has exposed the flawed affidavit and suspicious timeline of federal actions. We will continue, as always, to stand by our election workers and the voters of Fulton County. We intend to vigorously pursue all available legal options."

Background on the seizure

The backstory:

The FBI investigation was triggered by a referral from Kurt Olsen, a presidentially appointed director of election integrity, on Jan. 5. Federal agents are looking into claims of "pristine" absentee ballots that lacked typical folds, as well as potential manipulation of tabulator tapes and ballot images. 

Experts for Fulton County testified that many of these "red flags" have innocent explanations, such as military ballots being printed differently or human error during scanning. Despite these arguments, the judge found the FBI had presented enough information to establish a "fair probability" of criminal activity to justify the search.