Judge Backs DOJ in Georgia Election Records Seizure, Prompting Taunts at Reporters

The Department of Justice targeted reporters it saw as biased on social media Wednesday after a federal judge ruled for the government in a dispute over 2020 ballots and election materials seized in Fulton County, Georgia, in January.

"Wrong again, MacFarlane," a DOJ communications account posted on X, aiming at a MeidasTouch journalist who had predicted the department's arguments would fail with the judge.

Judge J.P. Boulee found in a 68-page order that Fulton County failed to prove its rights were violated when the FBI took more than 600 boxes of election records. The Trump appointee denied county officials' request to return the boxes, giving the Trump administration a victory in its push to probe the 2020 election. That prompted the DOJ to taunt media skeptics online.

"Sorry for your loss, Anna," the DOJ social media account posted separately about a Lawfare editor.

Boulee's decision advanced the DOJ's nationwide review of past elections in battleground states including Arizona and Michigan. Former President Trump claims the 2020 election involved widespread fraud and calls for stricter election security before the midterms.

FBI agents had seized the boxes, which held 2020 ballots, from the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center. They acted under a court-approved search warrant. An affidavit showed the bureau was examining ballot irregularities and record-keeping lapses in Georgia, a state Trump lost by a narrow margin to President Joe Biden. The state drew intense scrutiny over Trump's fraud allegations after the election.

Democrats assailed the probe. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., called it a continuation of a "sore loser's crusade" when he learned of it.

Fulton County Board of Commissioners chairman Robb Pitts, named in the lawsuit over the seizure, had labeled the investigation "yet another act of outrageous federal overreach designed to intimidate and to chill participation in elections. ... I will always stand up for our elections workers and for the truth."

Pitts and other county officials argued the seizures broke the law and showed "callous disregard" for the county's constitutional rights. Boulee dismissed those arguments. He noted the affidavit had flaws and "troubling" statements but said it fell short of the high bar for deliberate misconduct.

"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. He added that he "cannot say that the Affidavit was so deficient that its shortcomings rise to the 'high[] threshold' of callous disregard."

Boulee pointed to the early stage of the investigation and a valid warrant backed by the affidavit. It cited issues like missing ballot images, inconsistent recount totals and chain-of-custody problems.

Pitts responded to the order in a statement to Fox News Digital. He agreed the affidavit was "defective" and "problematic."

"But I strongly disagree with the judge’s denial of Fulton County’s request for the FBI to return the election records it wrongly seized on January 28," Pitts said. County officials, he added, would "continue, as always, to stand by our election workers and the voters of Fulton County. We intend to vigorously pursue all available legal options."

Fox News Digital sought comment from Lawfare and MeidasTouch.