FBI documents show what led to the Georgia elections office raid

Amna Nawaz:

Last month’s FBI raid on a Georgia elections office, seizing more than 700 boxes of ballots, was prompted by an investigation into so-called deficiencies in the 2020 election, according to an unsealed affidavit from an FBI agent that the Justice Department filed in federal court.

White House correspondent Liz Landers has been following updates on this case and joins me now.

So, Liz, what else do we learn from the latest legal filing about the raid and why the federal government confiscated those election documents?

Liz Landers:

This 22-page affidavit that was unveiled this afternoon gives us a glimpse into the federal government’s argument here as to why they conducted this raid a few weeks ago.

They say this is based on the belief that there was probable cause that there was a violation of retention and preservation of election records in Fulton County as well as denial of a fair election, so the way they conducted the election there, apparently, was not fair. This is according to some of what is stated in this document.

So the lead FBI agent who wrote this affidavit has been with the agency for five years now. It addresses some of the issues and some of the shortcomings that the government says have occurred. He said they did not have, nor did the county have, scanned images of all 528,000 ballots. They claim some ballots were scanned multiple times, and that the hand count did not match the actual count.

I would add that the hand count is often inaccurate due to human error, and that the vote total was 17,000 fewer votes than the original count. Many of these claims have already been made public before. Some of these matters have been addressed by Fulton County and the Secretary of State’s Office.

But that’s the compilation that’s in the affidavit, which was signed by the district judge there. And one more detail here, the FBI says this investigation stemmed from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, who is now the Trump-appointed director of election security and integrity.

Amna Nawaz:

So they claim Fulton County did something wrong here. What does Fulton County have to say about all this?

Liz Landers:

Well, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners actually filed a lawsuit against the federal government last weekend to get those ballots back. They say this was an improper raid and search.

Earlier today I spoke with Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Rob Bates. We spoke to him directly as these documents emerged. He said they, the Fulton County Board of Elections, complied with everything the FBI requested. They delivered those 700 boxes of election materials, tabulation votes, absentee ballots, all ballots, voter lists.

They said they complied with everything and handed him over to the FBI. But he says it’s not just about Georgia. He says this is a broader insult to voting and elections in this country. He listens.

ROB BATES, Chairman, Board of Commissioners, Fulton County, Georgia: I think it’s much larger than Fulton County. The president also mentioned 15 states he has some concerns about. I think Georgia is probably at the top of that list for the reasons I mentioned, but others should realize that as well.

That’s why I believe, if they succeed in doing everything they plan to do here in Fulton County, Georgia, and in the state of Georgia, they will simply go to other states and do exactly the same thing.

Liz Landers:

Bates also said, Amna, that after those materials were seized, and all the election materials that were seized, they left their own headquarters, their own building, and that he doesn’t know where it is now. He said he could not verify some of the personally identifiable information contained in some of those documents, such as voter lists.

And one more thing I want to stress to our viewers, Amna, is that all of this happened at the direction of the president, says Tulsi Gabbard. She was there at the Fulton County elections office. It is highly unusual to see the Director of National Intelligence in an FBI operation like this.

Amna Nawaz:

I want to go back to the name you mentioned, Kurt Olsen. As I mentioned, he is a special government employee who has now been given authority by President Trump to investigate the 2020 election. Tell us more about Mr. Olsen and what we should know about his role.

Liz Landers:

If you’ve been following some of the events of January 6, this special commission that happened on Capitol Hill a few years ago, and you’ve been following some of the election denier movement, you may have heard of Kurt Olsen before.

He’s a lawyer. He has engaged in litigation to fight what he said was Joe Biden’s false victory. So he has long denied the 2020 election results. He also represented Carrie Lake when she ran for governor and then did not accept the election results in Arizona.

At the time, Olsen was sanctioned by an Arizona court for false statements he made in connection with that case. He is now supervising these investigations. The CIA confirmed to me today that the President has asked Mr. Olsen to look into intelligence related to the 2020 election, and that the agency, the CIA, is ensuring that he has the access necessary to do his job.

Politico reported that he had access to sensitive intelligence information. When I asked the White House earlier today about his work and what kind of sensitive intelligence he has access to, they said: “The President has the authority to provide access to classified materials to individuals as he deems necessary. The entire Trump administration is working together to ensure the integrity of America’s elections.”

Amna Nawaz:

White House correspondent Liz Landers, we know you’ll continue to cover this story. Thank you.

Liz Landers:

naturally.