The Justice Department asked Fulton County, Georgia, to turn
over 2020‑election records, underscoring the administration’s effort to revive
the president’s biggest falsehood.
In 2020, investigators found no evidence of misconduct in
Fulton County. Last year, however, the board voted to reopen the probe with a
Republican majority.
The board decided to subpoena a mountain of records on the
eve of the 2024 presidential election. The board passed a resolution this
summer requesting that the justice department step in and assist them in
obtaining the papers.
Records pertaining to voter lists, chain of custody
documents, ballot scan documentation, security seals, and ballot pictures are
sought under the subpoenas issued last year.
The Guardian was able to get a letter dated October 30th
from the department's civil rights division, which requests that Fulton County
produce a number of documents that the state election board requested.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report on
the letter's existence.
“Transparency seems to have been frustrated at multiple
turns in Georgia,” Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump ally who leads the civil rights
division, wrote in the letter. She also said the voting section had received
correspondence from “voter transparency advocates” of “multiple instances of
government obstruction of transparency requests, including high-resolution
ballot scans, signature verification documentation, and various metadata
requests”. She asked the county to turn
over the records within 15 days.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by a
representative of the Fulton County Elections Board. Beyond the contents of the
letter, a justice department representative declined to comment.
The department's request coincides with the Justice
Department's lawsuit against eight states that have failed to provide voter
roll information after requesting that 40 states do so. Kurt Olsen, an attorney
who has worked on cases attempting to overturn the results of the 2020
election, was also recently hired by the White House to work on voting issues.
Another well-known election denier, Heather Honey, has been assigned to an
election-related position at the Department of Homeland Security. Her deceptive
research was used to cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 election.
Which federal statute authorizes the DOJ to obtain election
records?
Election Officers and officers are needed to retain and save
all records and papers relating to civil choices( President, Vice President,
Senate, House) for at least 22 months after an election, covering operations,
enrollments , and other acts necessary to voting.
The Attorney General or a DOJ representative may demand
records or papers applicable to examinations, with clear statements of base and
purpose, and can impel the product through the U.S. District Court if
necessary.
There are penalties for willful destruction, concealment, or
revision of similar records. The law also regulates the confidentiality and
exposure of produced records, limiting exposure absent court orders, to cover
sequestration and election integrity.