FBI Ballot Seizure Tied to Trump Adviser Probe

The FBI’s seizure of 2020 election ballots in the US state of Georgia stemmed from a criminal investigation initiated by an adviser to President Donald Trump who supported his unsuccessful effort to overturn the election results, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed on Tuesday.

FBI agents last month raided election offices in Fulton County, home to the Democratic-leaning city of Atlanta, removing hundreds of boxes of ballots and related materials from the 2020 presidential vote — an election Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed he won.

County officials filed a lawsuit seeking the return of the seized materials. District Judge JP Boulee ordered the unsealing of the affidavit used to justify the search.

The document states that the FBI is investigating allegations of “electoral impropriety” in the 2020 election and whether any such actions constituted intentional violations of federal criminal law.

According to the affidavit, the probe originated from a referral by Kurt Olsen, identified as a presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity. The filing cites several previously circulated fraud allegations regarding Fulton County’s vote count, some of which have been discredited.

Olsen was a member of Trump’s 2020 legal team, which filed numerous lawsuits challenging election results across several states. Courts dismissed those cases.

Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Before the final certification of results, Trump urged a state election official in a phone call to “find 11,780 votes” — the number needed to overturn Biden’s margin in the state.

Trump and several allies were later charged in Georgia over alleged efforts to subvert the election outcome. However, the case was dismissed in November 2025 after the prosecutor became embroiled in controversy.

He also faced federal charges linked to alleged attempts to overturn the election and the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot by his supporters. Those charges were dropped following his re-election in November 2024.

Fulton County Chairman Rob Pitts said the county had been targeted because he had “stood up” against Trump’s claims about election fraud.

“Every audit, every recount and every court ruling confirmed that our elections were fair and accurate, and that every legal vote was counted,” Pitts said.

While US elections are administered by individual states, Trump has recently suggested expanding federal oversight of voting in certain areas, citing claims of fraud that have not been substantiated.