By Andrew Goudsward
ATLANTA, March 27 (Reuters) - Georgia’s Fulton County on Friday assailed the credibility of the FBI's investigation into the 2020 election as it urged a judge to order the return of ballots federal authorities seized in pursuit of President Donald Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud.
At a hearing in Atlanta federal court, lawyers for Fulton County put on the witness stand Ryan Macias, an elections expert who advised the county in 2020. He told the judge the federal government's evidence was not "based in reality."
An affidavit an FBI agent used to secure a warrant to search the county's election center in January "does not make sense" and relies on witnesses "who don't know how elections are conducted," Macias said.
The testimony was part of the county's effort to convince U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee that the seizure of more than 600 boxes of 2020 election ballots, approved by a magistrate judge, showed a "callous disregard" for its rights under the U.S. Constitution.
The search of the facility, attended by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, showed how the Trump administration has deployed U.S. law enforcement and intelligence authorities to reinvestigate his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump has falsely claimed that his defeat in 2020 was marred by large-scale voter fraud and has sowed doubts about the security of U.S. elections ahead of the November midterm elections.
Boulee appeared skeptical of at least some of Fulton County's arguments, questioning whether the county had shown a need to have original copies of the material. He also noted that the FBI included some "contrary information" in the warrant affidavit, including summarizing past reports that found no evidence of fraud or intentional wrongdoing.
"How far does the affidavit have to go" in including information that cuts against the FBI's case, Boulee asked, challenging Fulton County's claim the document omitted key facts.
Tysen Duva, the head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, argued that Fulton County faces a daunting legal bar in showing that the search was improper and had not cleared it. Duva dismissed Macias' testimony as a disagreement about the evidence and highlighted his lack of involvement in the FBI's probe.
"There is enough in this affidavit to stand," Duva told the judge.
During the search, FBI agents seized a large volume of material related to the 2020 election from the county's election center in Union City, Georgia, including original 2020 ballots. Authorities cited alleged “deficiencies or defects” with the 2020 vote, including claims that some digital images of ballots were missing and some absentee ballots did not appear to have been folded as required.
The investigation began with a referral from Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who aided Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and has since been tasked by the White House with re-examining the vote.
Prosecutors cited potential violations of a records retention law and a law that criminalizes attempts to deprive or defraud residents of a fair election.
The prospect of more Trump administration probes into the midterm congressional elections this year loomed over the hearing.
Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Fulton County who is representing several Trump adversaries being investigated by the Trump administration, warned that the Justice Department's arguments could allow the federal government to "come into hundreds if not thousands of election centers" around the country.
Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold in a state that has become hotly contested in presidential elections, became the center of conspiracy theories and fraud claims spread by Trump and his allies following the 2020 election.
Biden’s wide margin in Fulton County was key to flipping Georgia in Democrats’ favor. The state swung back to Trump in 2024.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Atlanta; Editing by Michael Learmonth, Andy Sullivan and Lisa Shumaker)
