FBI cited debunked claims to obtain warrant for Fulton County vote records, documents show

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

February 10, 2026 at 5:40 p.m. EST


The FBI relied heavily on previously debunked claims of widespread election irregularities in Georgia as it persuaded a federal judge last month to sign off on plans to seize 2020 voting records from the state’s most populous county, court documents unsealed Tuesday show. In a pair of Jan. 28 search warrant affidavits, authorities said they were seeking evidence that would determine whether “deficiencies” in the vote tabulation in Fulton County, home to Atlanta, were the result of intentional wrongdoing that could constitute a crime.

But many of the issues they cited — including claims of duplicate ballots and missing ballot images — have been previously explained by county officials as the types of routine errors that frequently occur, are typically corrected in the moment, and are not significant enough to sway the outcome of an election. Independent reviews have backed up that conclusion.

The affidavits did not identify any Fulton County officials as a target of the FBI probe or cite evidence that any specific crime had occurred. Instead, the documents rely on accounts from 11 people, many of whom are prominent election deniers or members of Georgia’s Republican-controlled State Election Board, to suggest “unknown persons” may have purposefully sought to tamper with the county’s 2020 results.

“If these deficiencies were the result of intentional action, it would be a violation of federal law,” whether or not any of them were significant enough to affect the outcome of the race, FBI Special Agent Hugh Raymond Evans wrote in the affidavits, which sought court authorization for the bureau’s Jan. 28 search of Fulton County’s primary election warehouse and the office of the county’s clerk of courts. The affidavits were made public Tuesday after Fulton County officials and a coalition of news outlets, including The Washington Post, urged a federal judge to release the typically sealed court filings. The Justice Department did not oppose the request.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/10/fulton-voting-search-affidavit/

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No paywall (gift)

[Lonestarblue]

1. The only person who sought to tamper with election results was recorded on tape demanding more votes.

The political corruption in this country by Republicans is quite deep when any judge would sign such a warrant.

[Native]

2. +1

[MLWR]

3. And they STILL aren't telling us who that judge is who signed the warrant. Isn't it public knowledge?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Who's "they", in your post?

The WP article says "In approving their request, Atlanta-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas determined that investigators had met that threshold."

As you say, public knowledge. It was also in reports 2 weeks ago: https://abcnews.com/Politics/fbi-conducting-court-ordered-activity-georgia-election-site/story?id=129644345

Whether she's gullible or complicit, I don't know.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Georgia Ballot Inquiry Originated With Election Denier in Trump White House (NYT Gift Subsription)

A newly unsealed affidavit showed that a criminal investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., relied heavily on claims about ballots that have been widely debunked.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/us/politics/fulton-county-kurt-olsen-fbi-search-2020-ballots.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LFA.DuFA.VTusLchR3vAU&smid=tw-share

An F.B.I. search warrant affidavit unsealed on Tuesday shows that a criminal investigation into 2020 election results in Fulton County, Ga., was set off by a leading election denier in the Trump administration and relied heavily on claims about ballots that have been widely debunked.

The unsealing of the affidavit in Fulton County is likely to raise more questions about the Trump administration’s use of the F.B.I. and Justice Department to revive old, largely disproved claims about the 2020 election in the state, which President Trump narrowly lost.

“The FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity,” the affidavit said. Mr. Olsen played a central role in Mr. Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, including speaking to the president multiple times on Jan. 6, 2021. He has continued to push false claims about elections, and was recently appointed to a key role in the Trump administration.

Many of the claims in the affidavit refer to long-held — and consistently debunked — conspiracy theories about elections in Georgia, including arguments about fraudulent and duplicate absent ballots, election machine tabulator tapes and missing ballot images. ....

In a court filing last week, Fulton County pointed to the many debunked conspiracy theories and previous investigations as a reason that the affidavit should be unsealed.

“The continued perpetuation of these unfounded allegations sows distrust around both judicial and electoral processes in Fulton County and the state of Georgia,” the county wrote. “Transparency is necessary to ensure public knowledge and confidence. At a minimum, the public has a right to know what its government is doing.”

This search warrant was issued based on really bad information. The attorney who filed for this search warrant needs to worry about sanctions.