Attorneys representing Fulton County faced off against the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court Friday, seeking the return of more than 650 boxes of 2020 election records that FBI agents seized from a county elections warehouse in January.

The hearing, which was held in a federal courthouse in Atlanta, was scheduled last week after the judge announced that attempts at mediation had been unsuccessful.

Justification for January’s raid, which was authorized by Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas, relied heavily on recycled claims of irregularities during the 2020 election, which critics say have already been adjudicated or debunked in the nearly six years since the election took place.

Fulton County, which is home to much of the city of Atlanta, was also at the center of President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen in Georgia and other swing states.

Abbe Lowell, who represented the county, argued Friday that an affidavit used to justify the raid relied on inaccurate testimony, with witnesses who “completely misstate each of the alleged problems.” He also argued that Salinas was given incomplete information about the significance of documents like ballot images and double-scanned ballots, and that she may have reached a different conclusion if she had been given more accurate information.

Expert witness Ryan Macias, an election technology expert who served as an advisor for Fulton County during the 2020 election, also testified that the events outlined in the affidavit include routine mistakes and were not indicative of any intentional misconduct.

But attorney Michael Weisbuch, who represented the federal government, argued that federal agents who drafted the affidavit did include opposing perspectives and that the raid didn’t amount to a “callous disregard” of the county’s rights.

He also argued that Fulton County has access to copies of the election records and that county officials have yet to produce a compelling reason why they need the original documents returned.

Judge J. P. Boulee, a Trump appointee, did not say when he would issue a ruling in the case.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts expressed concern about the Trump administration attempting to take control over elections, and said the federal government could use similar tactics to seize election documents in other states.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this is a blueprint,” Pitts said. “If they’re successful here, in Fulton County, they will take this show on the road, and that’s why we’re going to fight fire with fire. We’re going to fight like hell to make sure that that does not happen.”

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has joined a growing chorus of voices calling for the return of political contributions from the now-defunct First Liberty Building and Loan, a Newnan-based lending firm with longstanding ties to the Republican Party.

The company has come under fire after federal officials filed a lawsuit accusing First Liberty’s founder, Brant Frost IV, of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 300 investors out of at least $140 million. According to the complaint, Frost misled investors about the nature of his business while funneling over $5 million to himself and his family members. He also improperly used investor funds to make more than $570,000 in political contributions, the complaint alleged, all of which went to Republican candidates and committees.

“I take full responsibility for my actions and am resolved to spend the rest of my life trying to repay as much as I can to the many people I misled and let down,” Frost said in a statement issued through his lawyer. “I will be cooperating with the receiver and federal authorities and ask that everyone allow the receiver time to sort things out and do his best to repair the damage I created.”

The allegations have shocked Georgia’s Republican political network, of which the Frost family has long been a part. In 1988, Frost served as Georgia state director for Pat Robertson, a conservative televangelist-turned-Republican presidential candidate. His son, Brant Frost V, worked as a principal at First Liberty and also served as a former vice-chair of the Georgia GOP. His daughter, Katie Frost, chairs a regional committee for the state party. Until last month, both siblings held leadership roles in the Georgia Republican Assembly, a far-right wing of the Georgia Republican Party.

Past recipients of Frost’s political contributions include Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — who last received a donation from Frost in 2019 — as well as state Sen. Colton Moore and state Rep. Charlice Byrd, according to data from the Georgia State Ethics Commission. Other out-of-state candidates who have received major contributions from Frost include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado.

Raffensperger, whose office is investigating First Liberty alongside the Securities and Exchange Commission, urged recipients to return political contributions they have received from the company or from the Frost family.

“Now is the time for every elected official, candidate, or political action committee who received financial support from this entity currently under investigation to stand up and help the victims,” Raffensperger said. “Ill-gotten gains do not belong in the State Capitol.”

The Democratic Party of Georgia has also urged Republican officials to return the funds.

“We have just learned that numerous Republican elected representatives are funded by money defrauded from unsuspecting Georgians,” said DPG Chair Charlie Bailey. “Now the question is whether Brian Kemp, the Georgia Republican Party, and all the electeds who received this money will do the right thing and return it to the hardworking Georgians from whom it was stolen.”

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.