Government expected to unseal affidavit filed in support of Fulton County election raid

(WASHINGTON) — Federal authorities are expected to unseal the affidavit they filed in support of their search of a Fulton County, Georgia, election office last month, after a federal judge ordered the document be unsealed by the end of the day Tuesday.

FBI agents on Jan. 28 seized 700 boxes containing ballots and other materials associated with the 2020 election from the county’s  Elections Hub and Operations Center after obtaining a search warrant. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims that there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia, that contributed to his election loss.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a Trump nominee, on Sunday ordered the government to unseal the affidavit that was filed in support of the search warrant, subject to “the redaction of the names of non-governmental witnesses.”

In his ruling, Boulee noted that the government did not oppose the unsealing of the affidavit, which could provide more information on the search and the investigation that lead to it. 

The ruling came after Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts filed a motion seeking the unsealing of the affidavit, as well as the return of the election documents that were seized.

Pitts said in a statement he was “pleased” with the judge’s ruling.

“Fulton County will continue to pursue every legal option to seek the return of election records and to defend our elections from possible takeover,” Pitts said. “Even in the midst of this unprecedented legal action, we will not allow our staff to be deterred or distracted from preparations for the 2026 election, which will be once again free, fair, transparent and legally compliant.”

While the judge on Sunday ordered the release of the affidavit that was the basis for the search warrant, the warrant itself authorized the FBI to search for “All physical ballots from the 2020 General Election” in addition to tabulator tapes from voting machines and 2020 voter rolls, according to a copy of the warrant that was obtained by ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB following the raid.

The warrant said the material “constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense.”

The warrant listed possible violations of two statutes — one which requires election records to be retained for a certain amount of time, and another which outlines criminal penalties for people, including election officials, who intimidate voters or to knowingly procure false votes or false voter registrations.