FBI's Fulton County warrant sought election records, voter rolls from 2020 election

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FBI searches Fulton County election office in Georgia linked to 2020 election

Fox News correspondent David Spunt has the latest on the FBI’s search of an election office in Georgia on ‘America Reports.’

The search warrant that FBI agents executed Wednesday at an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia, authorized the seizure of election records, voting rolls and other data tied to the 2020 election, according to a copy of the warrant reviewed by Fox News.

The FBI's search of the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Union City, Georgia, appears to be the most public indication to date that the bureau could be pursuing an investigation into complaints of voter fraud in the 2020 election. 

Fulton County is the most populous county in Georgia and includes the capital city of Atlanta. It most notably emerged as ground zero for voter fraud complaints in the wake of the 2020 election, though the claims did not survive court scrutiny. 

Fox News Digital reported yesterday that FBI agents were seen entering the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, a new facility that state officials opened in 2023 that was designed to streamline their election processes.

FBI investigators near the scene of a crime in their official jackets.  (Getty Images)

According to a copy of the warrant, FBI personnel in Fulton County were authorized to seize all physical ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls obtained during the 2020 election from the county's main election facility.

The FBI said in a statement that agents were executing a "court-authorized law enforcement action" at the facility. "Our investigation into this matter is ongoing so there are no details that we can provide at the moment," the agency added.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was also present during the search Wednesday, leading some to question why the nation's top intelligence official was there. 

"Much of the American public are quite reasonably alarmed and asking questions after the Director of National Intelligence was spotted bizarrely and personally lurking in an FBI evidence truck in Fulton County, Georgia yesterday," Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said following the raid.

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"There are only two explanations for why the Director of National Intelligence would show up at a federal raid tied to Donald Trump’s obsession with losing the 2020 election," added Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. "Either Director Gabbard believes there was a legitimate foreign intelligence nexus – in which case she is in clear violation of her obligation under the law to keep the intelligence committees ‘fully and currently informed’ of relevant national security concerns – or she is once again demonstrating her utter lack of fitness for the office that she holds by injecting the nonpartisan intelligence community she is supposed to be leading into a domestic political stunt designed to legitimize conspiracy theories that undermine our democracy."

But, according to a spokesperson at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Gabbard's actions were "within her authorities."

"Director Gabbard recognizes that election security is essential for the integrity of our republic and our nation’s security. As DNI, she has a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure and protecting against exploitation," the spokesperson told Fox News. "We know through intelligence and public reporting that electronic voting systems have been and are vulnerable to exploitation. President Trump’s directive to secure our elections was clear, and DNI Gabbard has and will continue to take actions within her authorities, alongside our interagency partners, to support ensuring the integrity of our elections." 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard talks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 23, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

During a cabinet meeting with President Trump in April, discussing the success of his first 100 days, Gabbard hinted at her plans as the nation's top intel official to investigate "election integrity" as well as other issues like the assassination of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

"We have more coming for the assassination of Bobby's father, Senator Kennedy, and MLK’s assassination, and we continue our extensive investigations around exposing the very serious issues we have related to election integrity, illegal abuses of FISA, Crossfire Hurricane, and others," Gabbard said at the meeting that took place nearly a year ago. "I'm grateful to have the privilege of leading the intelligence community towards ending the weaponization, politicization of the intelligence community that has gone on for far too long, and building out what is truly a lean, and agile and effective intelligence community that is helping you deliver that promise to the American people – of safety, security and freedom."

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Meanwhile, according to a statute passed in 2019 as part of a wide-ranging defense bill, the Director of National Intelligence is authorized to designate and oversee a counterintelligence officer to lead and manage counterintelligence matters related to election security. Additionally, an executive order from President Trump's first term directed Gabbard's office to assess foreign interference after every election, a measure later extended by former President Joe Biden in 2022.          

Ballots arrive at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center on election night on Nov. 5, 2024, in Fairburn, Georgia. Americans cast their ballots today in the presidential race between Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as multiple state elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress.  (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

News of the search comes years after Fulton County emerged at the center of concerns and complaints about voter fraud in the wake of the 2020 elections, including from President Donald Trump, who lost the state to former President Joe Biden by a razor-thin margin. 

Despite a machine count and two recounts that confirmed the results, Trump continued to feud for years with Georgia officials and claimed that various instances of fraud had tainted the results.

Most recently, Trump reiterated those complaints earlier this month during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said then that "people will soon be prosecuted for what they did," though he declined to elaborate.

The Superior Court building in Fulton County, Georgia.  (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

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The Justice Department sued Fulton County in December seeking access to ballots related to the 2020 lawsuit, though the FBI's search appears unrelated. 

Fulton County is fighting the lawsuit and says the Justice Department has not made a valid argument for accessing the records.

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