'It would be a violation': Fulton County election investigation 'originated from a referral' by former Trump lawyer, affidavit says

The genesis of the FBI raid connected Fulton County's predetermination hub is simply a referral from a erstwhile lawyer for President Donald Trump's failed 2020 reelection campaign, an affidavit unsealed Tuesday shows.

In an emergency motion filed earlier this month, Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts sued the Trump administration, requesting the instrumentality of "all archetypal seized materials" from the 2020 election, including immoderate "656 boxes containing the archetypal versions" of ballots, ballot images, tabulators, and elector rolls.

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a Trump appointee, ordered the docket's unsealing and told the Department of Justice to record its hunt warrant affidavit by Tuesday arsenic helium considers the motion.

Now, the affidavit has been released and traces the underlying probe backmost to Kurt Olsen, an predetermination denialist who spoke with Trump respective times connected Jan. 6, 2021, and who tried to convince then-acting lawyer wide Jeffrey Rosen to backmost litigation specifically aimed astatine overturning Joe Biden's triumph astatine the U.S. Supreme Court.

"This warrant exertion is portion of an FBI transgression probe into whether immoderate of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated national transgression laws," the affidavit reads. "The FBI transgression probe originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity."

As the president and his run floundered successful precocious 2020, Olsen suggested litigation based connected a failed suit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) arsenic a starting point.

"Thank you for calling maine connected behalf of AG Rosen," Olsen wrote to Rosen's deputy, John Moran, connected Dec. 29, 2020. "Attached is simply a draught ailment to beryllium brought by the United States modeled aft the Texas action. As I said connected our call, the President of the United States has seen this complaint, and helium directed maine past nighttime to little AG Rosen successful idiosyncratic contiguous and sermon bringing this action. I person been instructed to study backmost to the President this day aft this meeting."

Olsen was appointed to his existent relation successful October 2025. As a peculiar authorities employee, helium was tasked with investigating never-proven claims of wide fraud during the 2020 predetermination with a absorption connected obtaining accusation from states, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The affidavit maintains widely- and long-debunked claims "of electoral impropriety relating to the voting process and ballot counting successful Fulton County," portion couching them arsenic "allegations."

"Some of those allegations person been disproven portion immoderate of those allegations person been substantiated, including done admissions by Fulton County," the affidavit goes on.

The affidavit is penned by FBI Special Agent Hugh Raymond Evans and was submitted arsenic portion of an exertion for a hunt warrant to stitchery materials from the predetermination center.

Fulton County, for its part, says the DOJ failed to found probable cause for the hunt and seizure of the predetermination materials.

"Given the lengthy past of wide debunked elector fraud theories, determination is small crushed to person assurance that the affidavit establishes probable cause," a memo prepared by the beleaguered region argued. "Respondent's ain investigative past and the nationalist grounds negate the precise fraud theories connected which probable origin appears to rest."

Nevertheless, the warrant was signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine Salinas successful the day of Jan. 28. The raid was carried retired aboriginal that aforesaid day. Notably, some Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey appeared connected the country arsenic FBI agents carried the boxes into national vehicles.

Among the "deficiencies oregon defects" mentioned successful the papers is an admittance by Fulton County that it "does not person scanned images of each the 528,777 ballots counted during the Original Count oregon the 527,925 ballots counted during the Recount."

The region has, successful the past, said determination was nary ineligible request to clasp those images successful full, according to Reuters.

The national authorities besides cited different admittance that "during the Recount of votes, immoderate ballots were scanned aggregate times."

The region was reprimanded by the Georgia State Election Board successful 2024 for double-scanning implicit 3,000 ballots during the 2nd and last recount, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. To date, however, it is unclear whether those ballots are really counted arsenic votes successful either statesmanlike candidate's total.

The affidavit besides cites the pursuing further claims:

c. During the Risk Limiting Audit, auditors counting the votes by manus reported ballot tallies for batches inconsistent with the existent votes wrong the batch. The State's Performance Review Board reported that Secretary of State investigators confirmed inaccurate batch tallies from the Risk Limiting Audit.

d. Auditors assisting successful the Risk Limiting Audit reported counting purported absentee ballots that had ne'er been creased oregon folded, arsenic would beryllium required for the ballot to beryllium mailed to the elector and for the ballot to beryllium returned successful the sealed envelope requiring the voter's signature for authentication.

e. On the time of the deadline to study the Recount results, Fulton County reported a recount totaling 511,343 ballots, 17,434 ballots less than archetypal counted. The pursuing day, Fulton County past reported a full of 527,925 ballots counted.

In the 2020 election, Biden defeated Trump narrowly but decisively by an authoritative borderline of 11,779 votes.

Fulton County has acknowledged errors successful its counts. To date, determination has ne'er been immoderate grounds of wide elector oregon electoral fraud – contempt often- and still-repeated claims made by the 45th and 47th president and galore of his allies.

The affidavit itself stops abbreviated of making specified claims.

"If these deficiencies were the effect of intentional action, it would beryllium a usurpation of national instrumentality careless of whether the nonaccomplishment to clasp records oregon the deprivation of a just tabulation of a ballot was result determinative for immoderate peculiar predetermination oregon race," the papers reads. "[T]his warrant seeks the seizure of predetermination records, to see insubstantial ballots, ballot images, and absentee ballot envelopes, presently retained by the Fulton County Board of Registration and Election arsenic grounds of violations of Title 52."

Matt Naham contributed to this report.