Why the FBI search warrant affidavit for Fulton’s 2020 ballots matters

The unsealing will reveal what federal authorities believe justified revisiting Fulton’s 2020 election, which Trump has long claimed, without evidence, was “rigged” against him. It could reveal whether authorities relied on credible evidence or debunked claims. It could also unveil new details about the people interviewed, documents cited and other facts gathered by the federal government.

Boulee allowed that the names of nongovernmental witnesses could be redacted.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas signed off on the search warrant used by FBI agents to seize Fulton’s in-person and absentee ballots, as well as absentee ballot envelopes. Agents also seized tabulator tapes, all ballot images from the original vote count and all voter rolls from the county’s 2020 election.

The warrant listed two federal statutes. One requires that officials maintain election records for 22 months after a federal election. The other outlaws willfully defrauding voters by counting ballots known to be fraudulent.

But it’s not clear what the Trump administration could do with the records. The election occurred more than five years ago, which would put it outside the statute of limitations covering most federal crimes.

And numerous investigations, lawsuits and multiple vote counts, including a hand-count audit of every ballot cast, have upheld Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow victory.

Observers have speculated about what evidence was presented to Salinas. Some have contemplated that a 263-page report written by conservative activists, including Kevin Moncla summarizing allegations of a fraudulent election in Fulton, could be one of the documents used by the Trump administration.

Moncla told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he had spoken with a Justice Department attorney about some of those allegations about two weeks before the raid.

In a legal filing from Fulton last week, the county claimed there is “significant evidence” suggesting debunked theories like those in Moncla’s report supported the warrant.

“One of the report’s authors, Kevin Moncla, appeared to take credit for the government’s search and seizure, and another contributor, Garland Favorito, said he had knowledge of the probable cause that justified the Warrant, while clarifying he did not have prior knowledge of the FBI’s raid,” Fulton’s attorneys wrote in their motion.

While it’s unclear what the affidavit will say, the raid came after months of escalation from Trump, the Justice Department and the State Election Board over Fulton’s long-scrutinized 2020 election.

The county’s 2020 records are tied up in two different lawsuits, one brought by the Justice Department late last year seeking ballots and another involving State Election Board subpoenas from 2024.

Meanwhile, since the raid, the president’s rhetoric about elections has only grown more aggressive.

Last week, the president suggested that Republicans “nationalize” elections in at least 15 states, even though the U.S. Constitution gives states the authority to administer and set the rules for their own elections.