Georgia's Fulton County heads to court to seek return of 2020 ballots seized by FBI
ATLANTA -- A federal judge plans to hear arguments Friday on a demand by officials in Georgia's Fulton County that the FBI return seized ballots and other materials from the 2020 election.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in a scheduling order that the hearing was needed after the two sides failed to reach an agreement in court-ordered mediation.
The Jan. 28 seizure from a warehouse near Atlanta targeted the elections hub in Georgia's most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of the city of Atlanta. Fulton County has been at the center of unfounded claims by President Donald Trump and his allies that widespread election fraud cost him reelection.
The FBI's move was one of several actions by the Trump administration that have alarmed Democrats and many election officials who are concerned it is using law enforcement to pursue the president's personal grievances and is planning ways to interfere in this year's midterm elections The FBI also used a subpoena earlier this month to obtain records related to a controversial audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona, another battleground state Trump lost that year.
https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/georgias-fulton-county-heads-court-seek-return-2020-131460381