{"id":8599,"date":"2026-05-07T09:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T09:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=8599"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T09:14:16","slug":"trump-administration-can-keep-2020-election-ballots-seized-from-georgia-judge-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=8599","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration can keep 2020 election ballots seized from Georgia, judge rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A US judge on Wednesday ruled that the Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized during an FBI search \u200bin January, a win for President Donald Trump\u2019s administration as it pursues the president\u2019s false claims of widespread voter fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta-based US District\u00a0Judge\u00a0J.P. Boulee rejected Fulton County\u2019s request for the return of original copies of the\u00a0seized\u00a0material.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers for the county had argued that the FBI\u2019s search of the county\u2019s election\u00a0hub\u00a0relied on faulty and discredited evidence\u00a0and violated protections under the US Constitution.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>FBI officials stand inside a vehicle loaded with boxes of documents removed from the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center on Jan. 28, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Boulee determined there were flaws in an FBI affidavit used to secure a\u00a0judge\u2019s permission for the search, but concluded that those shortcomings did not amount to \u201ccallous disregard\u201d for the county\u2019s rights, the legal standard required to have the records returned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the Affidavit was certainly far\u00a0from\u00a0perfect, this is not a situation where an officer left out all the facts that might undermine probable cause or where an officer intentionally lied,\u201d Boulee wrote in a 68-page ruling.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Fulton County intends to \u201cvigorously\u201d pursue all available legal options, the county\u2019s chairman, Robb Pitts, said in a statement, while adding that he disagreed with the\u00a0judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling is a rare court victory for\u00a0Trump\u2019s Justice Department in investigations that\u00a0Trump\u00a0has demanded.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>President Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 2020 Presidential election in Winston-Salem, NC, on Sept. 8, 2020. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It will allow the FBI to\u00a0keep\u00a0possession of more than 600 boxes of\u00a02020\u00a0ballots\u00a0as it pursues a criminal investigation into whether\u00a0election\u00a0records were not properly retained or whether residents in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, were defrauded out of a fair\u00a0election.<\/p>\n<p>But the investigation still faces significant obstacles.<\/p>\n<p>DOJ lawyers have not identified any individual targets of the probe and have not disputed claims that the statute of limitations appears to have expired on both crimes prosecutors have said they are investigating.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Union City, Georgia, on Jan. 29, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DISPUTE CLOSELY WATCHED AHEAD OF NOVEMBER\u00a0ELECTIONS<\/h2>\n<p>The dispute was closely watched by\u00a0election\u00a0officials and experts across the country as\u00a0Trump\u00a0continues to threaten a potential\u00a0federal government takeover\u00a0of some local\u00a0elections and sows doubts about voting ahead of the November\u00a0elections.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u00a0has continued to falsely claim that his defeat in the\u00a02020\u00a0election\u00a0to Democrat Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud and has deployed US law enforcement and\u00a0intelligence agencies\u00a0to re-investigate claims about the collection and tallying of votes.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Department lawyers argued that Fulton County had not met the stringent legal standard necessary to secure the return of material\u00a0seized\u00a0during a court-approved search.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>During the search, which was approved by a federal magistrate\u00a0judge, FBI agents seized original 2020 ballots and other records\u00a0from\u00a0the county\u2019s\u00a0election\u00a0center in Union City,\u00a0Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities cited alleged \u201cdeficiencies or \u200bdefects\u201d with the\u00a02020\u00a0vote, including \u200bclaims that some digital images of \u2060ballots\u00a0were missing and some absentee\u00a0ballots\u00a0did not appear to have been folded as required.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation\u00a0began with a referral\u00a0from\u00a0Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who aided\u00a0Trump\u2019s attempts to overturn the\u00a02020\u00a0election\u00a0and has since been\u00a0tasked \u200bby the White House\u00a0with re-examining the vote.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Crime scene tape is wrapped around cars outside the Fulton County Election Hub on Jan. 28, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attends the FBI raid on Fulton County for election documents on Jan. 28, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tulsi Gabbard,\u00a0Trump\u2019s director of national intelligence, attended the search in an unusual move for an official whose focus is on foreign threats to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold in a state that has become hotly \u200bcontested in presidential elections, became the center of conspiracy theories and fraud claims spread by\u00a0Trump\u00a0and his allies following the\u00a02020\u00a0election.<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s wide margin in Fulton County was key to flipping \u200bGeorgia\u00a0in Democrats\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n<p>The state swung back to\u00a0Trump\u00a0in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers for Fulton County argued that the FBI affidavit used to justify the search omitted crucial context showing that many of its claims had previously been investigated and found to be either unfounded or mistakes that were not the result of intentional misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>During a March court hearing in Atlanta, an\u00a0election\u00a0expert who advised the county on the 2020 election testified that much of the evidence cited in the affidavit appears to show a misunderstanding of how elections are conducted.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- 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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A US judge on Wednesday ruled that the Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[576,8995,1024,5021,1597,1739,1223,477],"class_list":["post-8599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-administration","tag-ballots","tag-election","tag-georgia","tag-judge","tag-rules","tag-seized","tag-trump"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948.jpg",1200,799,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-768x511.jpg",640,426,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-1024x682.jpg",640,426,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948.jpg",1200,799,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948.jpg",1200,799,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-1115x715.jpg",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/newspress-collage-1mxz9kvz1-1778140985948-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a 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