Federal Judge Tosses 2020 Election Subpoena

A federal judge in Georgia has shut down a Justice Department push to dig back into the 2020 vote in Atlanta's Fulton County, ruling that a subpoena for information on local election workers went too far and wasn't justified. US District Judge William Ray called the request's scope "staggering" and said the DOJ's interest in enforcing it didn't outweigh the burden on the county, especially since "the statute of limitations for any possible crime arising from the 2020 Election has long expired," CNN reports. The April subpoena sought the names and contact information of every 2020 election worker in the county, including volunteers and county employees.

In his order, Ray said federal investigators claimed Fulton County may not have kept ballot images as long as required and that some seized ballots "look suspicious." But he questioned whether a valid grand jury was actually behind the subpoena, noting no evidence that the grand jury itself sought the workers' personal data.

• "In these hyper-political times in which we currently live, there are sure to be some who disagree with this decision because they believe the allegations of fraud in the 2020 Election and believe that 'light' should be brought to those claims," Ray wrote, per the AP. He said those allegations can be investigated, but not through the grand jury process, "which exists to investigate potential crimes and to bring viable indictments."
• "Everyone, whether you support the President or you do not, or whether you believe the 2020 Election was fair or believe that it was not, should be concerned about the DOJ's ability to utilize the power of the Grand Jury to appropriate your private information without a legitimate purpose," the judge wrote.
• Ray was appointed by President Trump, who has long claimed, without evidence, that voter fraud was behind his 2020 loss in Georgia.

The ruling comes as the DOJ faces setbacks in court while pressing state and local officials on election practices, CNN reports. Its Civil Rights Division has recently warned that officials who let noncitizens remain on voter rolls or cast ballots could face criminal charges and has notified several Michigan cities it plans to send federal election monitors for upcoming contests. The FBI has reportedly made the Georgia investigation a top priority and has asked field offices to supply hundreds of analysts.