The FBI served a search warrant at the election headquarters of Fulton County, Georgia, seeking ballots from the 2020 presidential election, Associated Press reported on Wednesday. The raid, which targets the county location that includes much of Atlanta, quickly drew attention to Trump’s years-long effort to challenge the results of the 2020 election and his renewed push while back in the White House.
The AP story said the search followed Trump comments earlier this month during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he suggested that charges related to the 2020 election were imminent. Trump has also continued to return to the 2020 election theme during his time back in office, the report said, despite court losses and repeated reviews that affirmed Joe Biden’s narrow win in Georgia.
Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor, linked the raid to what he described as the president’s ability to marshal federal power for his political grievances. Hasen said: “The man has obsessions, as do a fair number of people, but he’s the only one who has the full power of the United States behind him.”
The AP account also cited concerns from Democratic lawmakers about how the federal government could be used politically. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, compared the search to the Minnesota immigration crackdown that has killed two U.S. citizen protesters, saying the approach was on display “to the whole world.” Ossoff added: “From Minnesota to Georgia, on display to the whole world, is a President spiraling out of control, wielding federal law enforcement as an unaccountable instrument of personal power and revenge,” in a statement.
Ossoff’s comments came as election officials across the country are preparing for the 2026 midterms, when Trump is struggling to help his party maintain control of Congress, according to the AP report. Noting that Trump contemplated using the military to seize voting machines after his 2020 loss, the article said some worry the raid could be laying groundwork for a similar effort in the fall.
The AP report said Georgia advocates and civil groups raised particular concerns because the state has repeatedly been a focus of Trump’s 2020 election obsession. It cited Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021 call with Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump asked him to “find” 11,780 more votes for him to be declared the winner, a request Raffensperger refused, according to the story, after reviews confirmed Biden had won Georgia.
In the AP reporting, David Becker, a former Department of Justice voting rights attorney and executive director of The Center for Election Innovation & Research, said he was skeptical the FBI search would produce successful prosecutions. Becker said, “So much this administration has done is to make claims in social media rather than go to court,” and added: “I suspect this is more about poisoning the well for 2026.”
While Trump was asked about the Fulton County search Thursday night, the AP story said he responded as he headed into a premiere for “Melania,” the first lady’s documentary. Trump said: “As you know, they got into the votes,” and he also cited what he described as “a signed judge’s order in Georgia,” saying: “You’ve got a signed judge’s order in Georgia and you’re going to see some interesting things happening. They’ve been trying to get there for a long time.”