DOJ claims of 'improprieties' spurred Georgia ballot seizure

Jimmy Jenkins, Bloomberg News on Feb 10, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The FBI claims it seized voting records from a Georgia county due to alleged “improprieties” with the 2020 election, part of a probe that originated with a lawyer who helped President Donald Trump unsuccessfully challenge results of that race.

Information about the investigation was included in a U.S. Justice Department filing in court that was unsealed Tuesday under order from a federal judge. The documents included an affidavit used to justify a court-ordered search warrant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s raid on a Fulton County, Georgia, elections center in late January.

“This warrant application is part of an FBI criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws,” FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans wrote in the warrant affidavit.

Evans said there was probable cause to believe sections of a federal voting rights law known as Title 52 concerning records retention and fair elections had been violated.

According to the filing, the FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who helped Trump challenge results of the 2020 election. Trump lost that election to former President Joe Biden. Olsen is now Trump’s appointed director of election security and integrity, according to the filing.

Investigators are trying to determine if “deficiencies” alleged in the affidavit were the result of intentional acts. The warrant seeks the seizure of election records “to include paper ballots, ballot images, and absentee ballot envelopes.”

Fulton County officials had sued the federal government requesting the legal justification for the raid, as well as demanding it stop searching the election materials and return them.

Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said in a statement that the claims the feds are probing “mirror long-debunked allegations pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies, despite repeated audits, recounts, court rulings, and reviews finding no evidence of fraud that could have changed the election’s outcome.”

“The battle continues and we will fight to protect voters of Fulton County at every turn,” he said. “Hopefully the judge will agree with us and order the return of the documents and bar their usage by the Trump administration, and by his or any campaign.”

U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Boulee gave the FBI until the end of day Tuesday to turn over a redacted search warrant affidavit related to the raid, so that it could be posted publicly on the case docket.

A search warrant affidavit is a sworn document, signed by a judge, that establishes probable cause for law enforcement to search a location tied to an alleged crime. Boulee said in his order that both parties had agreed to release the affidavit. He has not yet ruled on Fulton County’s requests for election materials to be returned.

Among those taking part in the Georgia raid was U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The Trump administration defended Gabbard’s presence, claiming she is working with other agencies to protect the security and integrity of U.S. elections. The administration has since offered varying explanations for Gabbard’s involvement.

Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, is part of a media coalition seeking to unseal information related to the Fulton County Election Board case.

While the raid is tied to alleged crimes associated with the 2020 election, the federal government is separately suing Georgia and 23 other states for refusing to turn over current voter roll data. Escalating matters, Trump recently called on Republicans to seize control of election processes from individual states, signaling that he may push for drastic measures to change the dynamics of the midterm elections.

According to an email reviewed by Bloomberg News, the FBI recently reached out to states asking for their participation in a call on Feb. 25, “to prepare for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.” The email was sent to state elections officials from Kellie M. Hardiman, whose title was listed as an FBI election executive. When asked for more information about the request, an FBI spokesperson said the role is not a new one.

Some state elections officials have pushed back on the mounting pressure from the federal government, vowing to go to jail rather than turn over voter roll data.

Elections officials in two states have already prevailed in the federal courts against the demands from the Justice Department, convincing judges to throw out lawsuits in California and Oregon.

The fights could end up before the US Supreme Court, and elections experts caution the Trump administration may be laying the groundwork to challenge the outcome of the midterms.

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