Fulton County officials on Tuesday accused the FBI of putting forth a “flagrantly misleading narrative” to obtain a search warrant for the Georgia county’s 2020 election records last month.
The county officials made the assertion in an amended motion, filed after last week’s unsealing of an FBI affidavit that revealed former Trump campaign lawyer Kurt Olsen was behind the unprecedented search and seizure of county election materials.
The affidavit omits critical information about the basis for the investigation, county officials argued in their amended motion seeking the return of seized election materials.
“The Affidavit admits that the entire ‘criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen,’ but it conceals the fact that multiple courts have sanctioned Olsen for his unsubstantiated, speculative claims about elections,” the filing said.
The affidavit, unsealed on Feb. 10, stated that the probe originated from “a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity.” Olsen was among the supporters of President Donald Trump who pushed baseless conspiracy theories in an effort to help overturn the 2020 election results.
The FBI did not immediately return MS NOW’s request for comment.
The ongoing legal battle stems from the FBI’s unannounced search of the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center near Atlanta on Jan. 18, where federal agents executed a search warrant and seized hundreds of boxes of original ballots, tabulator tapes, digital ballot images and voter rolls from the certified 2020 presidential election.
Fulton County officials emphasized in the latest complaint that they believe the FBI’s actions violated constitutional protections, including the Fourth Amendment, arguing that the search warrant lacked probable cause and was based on evidence that federal authorities themselves disclosed was already widely known or previously reviewed.
The amended complaint also stressed that the affidavit’s allegations were largely based on long-debunked claims about the 2020 election’s integrity — assertions that independent audits, recounts and state investigations previously rejected. Despite claims from Trump and his allies, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election that resulted in Joe Biden’s victory. The filing on Tuesday reiterated that the five-year statute of limitations for the crimes mentioned in the affidavit has expired. The county also stressed its concerns that the FBI’s investigation could threaten voter confidence and participation in future elections. “The Affidavit does nothing more than describe the types of human errors that its own sources confirm occur in almost every election — without any intentional wrongdoing whatsoever,” the filing said. Fallon Gallagher contributed reporting.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics. Recommended
