FBI Quickly Seizes Election Ballots in Georgia

By Aleena Fayaz, Tierney Sneed, CNN

(CNN) – The FBI took control of 2020 election materials from Georgia just a few weeks after starting a criminal investigation, which is surprisingly fast for this type of case, experts told CNN.

The newly released timeline, submitted on Friday, came from the Justice Department after District Judge Jean-Paul Boulee ordered them to provide more details about the start of the FBI’s investigation into the Fulton County elections office.

Fulton County officials have indicated in court documents that they believe the criminal inquiry may be a “pretext to acquire records that this Administration was unable to quickly secure via the civil litigation process.”

However, the Justice Department has countered that idea is “nonsensical for multiple reasons” and noted that the county did not meet the high standard required for asking that the seized materials be returned. The department has also argued in court filings that the federal government “used criminal process to get the records-a higher burden than obtaining them through civil process.”

Weeks of proceedings in an ongoing lawsuit – filed by Fulton County officials seeking back their ballot materials – occurred before this timeline release. And previous civil litigation from the federal government started last year.

In December, the Justice Department sued Fulton County for records related to the 2020 election as efforts continued to debunk President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims about a stolen election.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division claimed that Atlanta-area county didn’t comply with a subpoena issued by the Georgia State Elections Board for its “used and void ballots, stubs of all ballots, signature envelopes, and corresponding envelope digital files from the 2020 General Election.”

DOJ’s investigation timeline

In Friday’s filing, it was noted by the Justice Department that Kurt Olsen, a 2020 election denier now working in the White House who initiated this criminal probe referral did so on January 5, 2026 at 9:03 a. m. At 8:36 p. m. later that same day, they filed a motion to dismiss civil litigation, according to DOJ.

The DOJ mentioned that agent Hugh Raymond Evans’ supervisor opened an “assessment” on January 6, 2026. Six days later Evans asked for it to become a full investigation; then on January 14, it was approved by special agent in charge of FBI’s Atlanta field office.

The filing states Evans drafted an investigative summary-which comes before applying for a search warrant-on January 19. This was officially turned into a warrant affidavit on January 22. The FBI executed a warrant at Fulton County elections office on January 28 – just 23 days after launching their criminal probe.

‘This all happened very quickly’

CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew Mc Cabe-who once served as deputy director of FBI-told CNN while timelines can differ among investigations he has never encountered such rapid initiation of a criminal case alongside an existing civil case during his two-decade career with agency.

“This all happened very quickly, particularly for a case like this which I think raises questions about why was this such a priority?” Mc Cabe commented.

Mc Cabe suggested “political pressure” might drive how fast they acted on this probe especially since he’s historically seen swift actions in drug cases where evidence might vanish. In contrast he mentioned evidence or ballots in this situation are not going anywhere.

Michael Moore who served as U. S. attorney for Middle District of Georgia under President Barack Obama agreed with Mc Cabe regarding how unusually quick things moved along during this probe.

Moore explained to CNN moving from formal referral straight to search warrant seemed “pretty expeditious” and wasn’t typical behavior one would expect here.

He found pacing odd since there appeared no involvement with matters involving “life and limb,” which could explain urgency needed for proceeding with search warrant.

CNN has reached out to DOJ asking for comments but received no direct response; instead when approached by CNN regarding comment request FBI referred inquiries back toward Justice Department.

Lawsuit proceeds as Trump administration pushes influence over elections

Boulee appointed by Trump during his first term now faces decision whether all Fulton County election materials must be returned or not.
Georgia stands among several states where skepticism surrounding results from year-2020 presidential election continues influencing state and local government roles despite numerous confirmations affirming outcome accuracy.
As Trump pursues sweeping yet legally questionable actions aiming towards increasing executive involvement within electoral processes; seizure conducted against Fulton County ballots underscores how these maneuvers can latch onto work done already by those questioning validity around elections embedded within bureaucratic channels managing electoral operations.
The FBI’s action taking hold over Georgia’s voting material amidst president advocating recent plans suggesting “nationalizing” voting spurred apprehensions among various state election authorities fearing potential federal interference within upcoming midterms.
The administration actively seeks opportunities stepping into functions reserved traditionally reserved solely delegated towards state-local governance including substantial efforts led forth spearheaded behind Trump’s own Justice Department pushing access across each individual state’s complete voter registrations entailing sensitive personal information like partial social security numbers coupled alongside birth dates involved too.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network Inc., part Warner Bros Discovery Company rights reserved.

Source link