Patel defends FBI raid as Georgia officials demand answers
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FBI Director Kash Patel, center, on Friday, Jan. 23. Photo: Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images.
Kash Patel on Thursday defended the FBI's raid of the Fulton County, Georgia election office and disputed that the search violated the federal statute-of-limitations.
Why it matters: Local officials vehemently objected to the search, saying it amounts to retaliation by President Trump's allies over his 2020 election loss and subsequent election interference case.
- The search came months after the five-year statute of limitations for federal crimes expired in late 2025. Patel dismissed the concern in comments a day after the search, saying it was conducted in a "timely fashion legally."
What they're saying: "The calculus, in terms of the statute, is always for our brilliant attorneys at DOJ, who we work in conjunction with," Patel said on the Charlie Kirk Show Thursday afternoon.
- "We always abide by the statute of limitations and any constitutional parameters that we have."
- Patel explained that a judge found "probable cause" for the FBI to execute a search warrant, so law enforcement "did just that."
- An FBI spokesperson told Axios it was conducting a "court-authorized law enforcement activity," and that "no other information is available at this time." The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Flashback: In his remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Trump repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was rigged and added "people will soon be prosecuted for what they did."
The other side: Fulton Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said Thursday that the county has been targeted for years because it rejected President Trump's "big lie" that the 2020 election was stolen.
- Pitts, who is up for re-election, said he told Trump and former U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz to "stay the hell out of Fulton County."
- He said every audit, recount and court ruling confirmed what "we, the people of Fulton County, already knew: our elections were fair and accurate and every legal vote was counted."
- "These ongoing efforts are about intimidation and distraction, not facts," he said.
Threat level: Fulton County has no idea where the roughly 700 boxes removed from the center are and what will happen to them, Sherri Allen, Chair of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections said.
- She said that because the documents were subject to litigation, the county would have preferred to have made copies so that all parties could have access.
- "I don't know where they are," Pitts said. "I don't know who has them. I don't know what they're doing with them. We can no longer be held responsible for those ballots and other data that was seized yesterday."
Catch up quick: In 2024, Republican members of the State Election Board issued a subpoena requesting Fulton's 2020 ballots and other forms, but the AJC reports the request is still pending.
- The local board then reached out to the DOJ for help, and in October, the Justice Department submitted its own request for "all records in your possession responsive to the recent subpoena issued to your office by the State Election Board," according to the complaint.
- Fulton County responded, saying the 2020 ballots, stubs and absentee ballot envelopes were in possession and under seal of the Fulton County clerk of superior court.
- The attorney general on Nov. 21 sent a letter requesting the documents.
The bottom line: Pitts said even after Fulton County poll workers "endured brutal and targeted harassment," this week's activities "show that Fulton County is still very much a target."
Go deeper: Trump says he's pardoned Tina Peters, but that may not save her from prison
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the FBI.
