The Justice Department unsealed documents Tuesday related to the FBI's seizure of Fulton County's ballots from the 2020 presidential election, revealing details of a federal criminal investigation into potential election law violations.
The release came in response to an order from U.S. District Court Judge J. P. Boulee, a Donald Trump appointee, to unseal search warrant affidavit-related paperwork. The documents reveal that the search was led by Hugh Raymond Evans, a special agent assigned to the Atlanta Field Office's Public Corruption Squad.
In the affidavit, Evans lists statements from at least 11 different witnesses to support a finding of probable cause to believe that unknown persons committed election law violations by improperly preserving records and tabulating fictitious ballots.
"Following the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election, there were many allegations of electoral impropriety relating to the voting process and ballot counting in Fulton County, Georgia," Evans wrote in the affidavit. "Some of those allegations have been disproven while some of those allegations have been substantiated, including through admissions by Fulton County."
Evans added that "this warrant application is part of an FBI criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws."
The FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, presidentially appointed director of Election Security and Integrity, according to Evans. The investigation was spurred by witnesses claiming Fulton County does not have scanned images of all the 528,777 ballots counted from the tabulator machines used in the 2020 election.
Judge Boulee allowed for the names of nongovernmental witnesses to be redacted in the unsealed documents. One of the witnesses was described as a Georgia resident and chemical engineer who reviewed ballot images made available by the Georgia secretary of state's office following the 2020 election. This witness claims the number of ballot images from the recount did not reconcile with the number of ballots cast.
Federal investigators expressed additional concerns regarding a report from the state's performance review board. According to the affidavit, secretary of state investigators confirmed inaccurate batch tallies from the risk limiting audit, where auditors counted the votes by hand.
Evans noted that auditors reported counting purported absentee ballots that had never been creased or folded, as would be required for the ballot to be mailed to the voter and for the ballot to be returned in the sealed envelope requiring the voter's signature for authentication.
The unsealed documents provide the most detailed public account to date of the federal investigation into Fulton County's election processes. The investigation represents a separate federal inquiry from the well-publicized Georgia election interference case involving former President Trump and co-defendants.
Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, was the subject of numerous election-related allegations following the 2020 presidential election. The county has been a focal point for election integrity concerns, particularly given its significant role in Georgia's electoral process.
The FBI's Public Corruption Squad's involvement indicates the serious nature of the allegations under investigation. Public corruption units typically handle cases involving violations of federal criminal laws by public officials or those working in government capacities.
The witness testimony cited in the affidavit appears to focus on technical aspects of ballot processing and preservation. The allegations include concerns about missing ballot images, discrepancies in vote counts between different auditing processes, and questions about the physical condition of absentee ballots.
The role of the presidentially appointed Election Security and Integrity director in referring the matter to the FBI highlights the federal government's interest in investigating potential election law violations. This referral mechanism represents one pathway through which federal authorities can initiate criminal investigations into election-related matters.
The unsealing of these documents follows months of legal proceedings and represents a rare public glimpse into federal election investigations. Such investigations are typically conducted with significant secrecy, making the court-ordered disclosure unusual in its scope.
The timing of the document release comes as election integrity remains a contentious political issue. The federal investigation's findings could have implications for future election processes and procedures in Georgia and potentially other jurisdictions.
The investigation's focus on intentional acts distinguishes it from administrative errors or unintentional mistakes. Federal prosecutors must prove criminal intent to secure convictions under federal election laws, making the distinction between intentional violations and administrative errors crucial to any potential prosecution.
As the investigation continues, the unsealed documents provide insight into the federal government's approach to investigating alleged election irregularities and the types of evidence being gathered to support potential criminal charges.