United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard steps out of a vehicle outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, January 28, 2026. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
The FBI's ability to get a search warrant to seize all of the 2020 election ballots and information in Fulton County, Georgia came down to one FBI agent who spoke to one supporter of President Donald Trump. Now, the FBI wants to hide that agent from answering questions under oath.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance flagged the court filing on Friday, in which Fulton County said that Agent Hugh Raymond Evans is a central part to their motions to quash. The federal government wants to keep the FBI agent from testifying, she explained.
The FBI raided the Fulton County headquarters at the end of January. At one point, the FBI agent told the county staff that they weren't leaving without the ballots, whether they had the proper paperwork or not. Once the documents showing how the FBI was able to get a search warrant were exposed, legal experts pounced on the legitimacy of the FBI's claims.
"His affidavit — which misstated and omitted key facts that if accurately disclosed would have undermined any pretense of probable cause — provides the sole support for the warrant at issue," wrote the county.
Fulton County is arguing that the Justice Department is trying to hide the truth behind how it got its search warrant.
Vance noted that Fulton County did one important thing in its promise to respect any "relevant privileges" that could prevent him from answering a question. Still, however, the DOJ refused.
"That won’t help their credibility with the Judge," wrote Vance.
"The 2020 election has been litigated, relitigated and its result confirmed. Given all of that and the affidavit's reliance on a discredited source to resuscitate the argument something criminal happened, it’s hard to imagine the government was pursuing a legitimate concern," wrote Vance on BlueSky.
"Trump is throwing voter suppression spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks," she added. "Everything from the SAVE Act to trying to control places like Fulton County."
Fulton County wants all of its documents back and went to court to get them. There were no copies made of the ballots, so no one will ever know what the FBI had, what they kept or even whether the documents are real.