FBI raided Georgia election office over 2020 ‘defects’ on command of Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer

FBI affidavit reveals Trump administration’s criminal investigation was sparked by election denier Kurt Olsen

The FBI raided an elections office in Georgia and seized ballots from the 2020 presidential election in connection with a federal investigation into “deficiencies or defects” into Donald Trump’s loss in the state, according to newly unsealed documents.

An affidavit for the search signed by a judge last month reveals that the investigation followed a referral from Trump’s former campaign-linked attorney Kurt Olsen, who is now working in the White House directly under the president.

The document from FBI Special Agent Hugh Raymond Evans says federal law enforcement agencies launched a “criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties” alleged during the ballot-counting process in Fulton County “were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws.”

That investigation was sparked by Olsen, who worked closely with Trump’s campaign in 2020 to challenge election results as part of a “Stop the Steal” movement that was largely rejected by courts across the country.

He was later sanctioned by a federal judge for “false, misleading and unsupported factual assertions” in support of Republican Kari Lake’s unsuccessful attempt to overturn her loss in the 2020 race for Arizona governor.

FBI agents seized 2020 election ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, during a raid that sprang from a criminal referral from Trump’s former campaign-linked attorney Kurt Olsen, according to newly unsealed documents (Reuters)

“The FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity,” according to the affidavit.

The latest revelations follow growing scrutiny from voting rights advocates and Democratic officials in the wake of last month’s raid, which appears to be fueled by familiar claims and conspiracy theories amplified by the president’s allies and debunked by top election officials.

Allegations in the affidavit appear to be largely based on complaints that were previously made in court or to the state’s election board. It cites several witnesses whose names are redacted but whose actions mirror the efforts from Trump’s allies to challenge the state’s results, which were largely tossed out and disproven.

It also does not name any alleged offenders or suggest who is responsible for the alleged criminal activity.

“Following the November 3, 2020, presidential election, there were many allegations of electoral impropriety relating to the voting process and ballot counting in Fulton County, Georgia. Some of those allegations have been disproven while some of those allegations have been substantiated, including through admissions by Fulton County,” according to Evans’ affidavit.

“This warrant application is part of an FBI criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws,” he wrote.

“This affidavit was much weaker than I suspected,” according to election law expert David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “No allegations of intent, no allegations of election theft, no allegations of foreign interference, and no allegations that the statute of limitations doesn’t apply.”

After five years and dozens of court cases, “this is all they’ve got?” he asked. If taken at its word, this entire affidavit at most alleges human error after a late night during a global pandemic, all of which had no impact on the outcome of the race.”

Federal law enforcement is investigating ‘deficiencies or defects’ from the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, which Trump lost (AP)

Georgia’s ballots were counted three times three different ways following the 2020 election and challenges to the results withstood scrutiny each time. The FBI is now investigating alleged “deficiencies or defects” in those counts.

Over nine hours on January 28, the FBI seized roughly 700 boxes of election records, according to filings from Fulton County officials.

Agents seized copies of ballots, numbered lists of voters, voting machine information, and mail-in ballots and envelopes.

Fulton County officials, meanwhile, are suing the Department of Justice to get those records back.

The FBI showed “callous disregard” for the Constitution with a raid that appeared designed to intimidate voters and violate their First Amendment rights, according to a motion from Fulton County Board of Commissioners chair Robb Pitts.

“Knowing that the federal government can physically seize and rummage through election records, long after the election has been certified, will predictably chill voter participation and undermine voters’ confidence in the security and secrecy of their ballots,” he argued.

Trump-appointed District Judge J.P. Boulee then ordered the administration to publicly reveal the arguments that persuaded a magistrate judge to approve the search, saying that the disclosure of an affidavit was critical “given the importance of the public’s access to judicial proceedings.”

Pitts, however, argued “there is little reason to have confidence that the affidavit establishes probable cause,” given “the lengthy history of widely debunked voter fraud theories” surrounding the case.

Fulton County has been at the center of the election denial movement in the wake of Trump’s loss, culminating in a sweeping racketeering indictment accusing the president and his allies of conspiring to overturn the outcome.

The FBI’s search follows the collapse of the criminal case against the president, who was accused of leading a “criminal enterprise” with a so-called “fake elector” scheme to falsely assert his victory while seeking to seize control of voting machines, intimidate election workers, and push the state’s top election official to “find” votes he would need to win.

The FBI’s admission of Kurt Olsen’s role in the probe follows mounting questions about the presence of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who reportedly put Trump on speakerphone so he could talk to agents at the scene (REUTERS)

Trump has reportedly directed U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with Olsen, and the CIA confirmed to Politico that the agency “is ensuring that he has the access necessary to do his work.”

He has reportedly also conferred with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency.

The FBI’s admission of Olsen’s role in the criminal probe also follows mounting questions about the presence of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who was photographed at the scene of the raid as FBI agents were hauling boxes and other evidence into trucks.

Trump reportedly ordered her to oversee the seizure, and Gabbard reportedly put the president on speakerphone to speak with agents who were handling evidence.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the president’s former criminal defense attorney, told CNN last week that Gabbard was not part of the investigation but remained a “key part” of the administration’s focus on “election integrity” — but he could not explain why Gabbard was present.

“DNI simply has no authority over local election admin or enforcement of election crimes,” Becker told reporters this month.

“It is highly troubling to see she was there and on the phone,” he said. “Who knows what she was doing and what she had access to?”

That evidence had an unbroken chain of custody up until the moment the president and his national intelligence director inserted themselves into the scene, making her a “material witness in that proceeding,” according to Becker. “I can only imagine what Donald Trump’s defense attorney would have said if President Biden’s DNI had traveled down to Mar-a-Lago during the seizure of Trump’s residence.”