U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks on the phone while standing at the edge of a truck loading bay after the FBI executed a search warrant for the Fulton County Election Hub. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage.
A Georgia judge dealt a massive blow to President Donald Trump and his Justice Department, according to Democracy Docket, demanding that they reveal new details about the seizure of Fulton County ballots they had previously fought to keep secret.
In January, the FBI raided an election center in Fulton County, home of Georgia's biggest city, Atlanta, seizing ballots and other materials relating to the 2020 presidential election. The raid was later revealed to be part of a revived investigation into Trump's long-debunked claims that the election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud.
Fulton County has since taken the administration to court over the situation, demanding the return of the seized materials and sharply questioning the basis of the alleged wrongdoing at the heart of the investigation. On the latter count, the DOJ has struggled to provide a sturdy rationale, leading to Thursday's ruling.
"A federal judge Thursday ordered the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over key details behind its seizure of 2020 election records in Fulton County, Georgia — rejecting the government’s effort to keep that information secret," Democracy Docket explained. "U.S. District Judge Jean-Paul Boulee issued an order requiring DOJ to disclose basic factual information about the origins of its criminal investigation — including when it began and when officials took key steps toward obtaining a search warrant."
The administration had, to this point, rebuff the demands made for more information about the case, claiming that "the information was irrelevant, untimely to request and protected by privilege." As Democracy Docket explained bluntly, "The court disagreed."
"In a sharply worded order, Boulee found that DOJ’s refusal to provide the dates lacked a rational basis and was 'arbitrary and capricious,' noting that the requests sought only 'a small amount of information' that should be straightforward to answer," the report continued. "At the same time, the judge declined to compel disclosure of other information sought by Fulton County — including whether DOJ officials discussed using a criminal warrant in response to delays in related civil litigation — finding those internal deliberations could be protected by privilege."
The administration has until Friday to provide the requested materials. They have specifically been asked to provide details on the "timeline of when a referral by election denier Kurt Olsen, a White House adviser, was made to the FBI, when the FBI opened its investigation, and when DOJ began drafting the affidavit used to secure the warrant. Fulton County officials have argued that the raid was entirely "pretextual," exploiting the criminal process to get their hands on materials they had yet to get through other means.