Judge: Trump DOJ May Keep 2020 Election Ballots FBI Seized in Fulton County

Judge: Trump DOJ May Keep 2020 Election Ballots FBI Seized in Fulton County​

A judge has ruled the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) may keep 2020 election ballots seized during a search in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee denied a request for the original copies of the material to be returned after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized them in January, Reuters reported Thursday.
“Boulee determined there were flaws in an FBI affidavit used to secure a judge’s permission for the search, but concluded that those shortcomings did not amount to ‘callous disregard’ for the county’s rights, the legal standard required to have the records returned,” the outlet said. “‘While the Affidavit was certainly far from perfect, this is not a situation where an officer left out all the facts that might undermine probable cause or where an officer intentionally lied,’ Boulee wrote in a 68-page ruling.”
Officials in Fulton County, which is mostly Democrat, have said they are pursuing legal options after Boulee denied the return of the election records, the Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday.