FBI reviewing Fulton County vote-count ‘deficiencies,’ court docs reveal

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Leavitt calls out media’s Fulton County outrage after years of pushing Russia interference claims

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hit back at media outlets questioning the FBI seizing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia.

The FBI is investigating Fulton County’s handling of the 2020 election, according to newly filed search warrant affidavits outlining alleged ballot irregularities and record-keeping failures.

The FBI special agent who wrote the affidavits, which were filed Tuesday in federal court by the Department of Justice, described for the first time the scope of the investigation. The agent detailed a wide-ranging probe into missing ballot images, inconsistent recount totals and chain-of-custody problems, raising allegations long leveled by President Donald Trump and his base.

The agent, Hugh Evans of the FBI Atlanta Field Office, said in the affidavits that physical ballots were needed to determine whether the alleged irregularities were administrative errors or intentional.

FBI AGENTS SEARCH ELECTION HUB IN FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA

Ballots arrive at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center on election night on Nov. 5, 2024 in Fairburn, Ga. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Evans noted that the FBI was investigating possible election-related criminal activity in Fulton, Georgia's most populous county, and that it did not matter whether the activity affected the final outcome of Georgia's 2020 race, which Trump lost by a razor-thin margin.

"If these deficiencies were the result of intentional action, it would be a violation of federal law regardless of whether the failure to retain records or the deprivation of a fair tabulation of a vote was outcome determinative for any particular election or race," Evans said.

One witness, whose name is redacted, is described in the affidavits as a chemical engineer and said that through his research, he found that ballot images did not line up with the number of ballots cast. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger addressed the allegation, which was also made in 2020, by ordering a second manual recount of the ballots at the time.

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol on Nov. 11, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.

President Donald Trump speaks at a "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP )

The FBI is investigating what witnesses also alleged were duplicate images of ballots and absentee ballots with missing creases, which would be needed for the ballot to have arrived in its proper envelope, according to the affidavits.

Many of the claims made in the affidavits were previously vetted by the Georgia State Election Board and through litigation. Trump and his lawyers at the time lost all of their cases after judges found they either did not have standing to bring the lawsuits or that the allegations lacked merit.

The affidavits come after the FBI executed court-authorized search warrants at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in January and explain the probable cause used to justify the warrants.

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Evans said the FBI investigation originated from a referral the bureau received from Kurt Olsen, who is described as a Trump-appointed director of election security and integrity. Olsen also helped Trump raise election challenges after 2020.

Trump Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is also involved in the probe. In a letter to Congress, she explained why she was present at the Fulton election facility during the FBI's search.

"Interference in U.S. elections is a threat to our republic and a national security threat," Gabbard said, saying Trump asked her to be there.