by WorldTribune Staff, May 8, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
The Trump Administration can keep 2020 election ballots seized by the FBI during a search in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year, a judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee denied a request for the original copies of the material to be returned to the county.
“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,” Reuters reported.
“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.
The judge said Fulton County failed to show that it needs the documents or will be irreparably harmed if they are not returned, noting this is particularly true because the Justice Department has given the county copies of the documents.
The FBI is conducting an investigation into allegations of “electoral impropriety” in the 2020 election and “whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws.”
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 reported on Wednesday.
The news of Boulee’s ruling came as President Donald Trump has claimed there was widespread voter fraud, and as the White House has urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
“The legislation has strong bipartisan support, with 71 percent of registered voters sampled in the latest Harvard-Harris poll, including 91 percent of Republicans, 50 percent of Democrats, and 69 percent of independents in favor of it,” Breitbart New noted in a March 10 report.
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