In a victory for election integrity in Georgia, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee has denied Fulton County’s motion to force the FBI to return the more than 600 boxes of records from the 2020 election that were seized last January. The Gateway Pundit previouslyreportedon the lawsuit filed by the Fulton County Attorney, Norm Eisen and Abbe Lowell on behalf of the Fulton County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Robert “Robb” Pitts.
The district court held that the county failed to meet the extremely high standard under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g), which allows a court to exercise “equitable jurisdiction” with regard to an ongoing criminal investigation.
Petitioners argued that the actions taken by the FBI equated to an “unlawful search and seizure,” and that the petitioners’ constitutional rights were violated. The DOJ, however, argued that governments are not afforded the same constitutional rights as citizens.
“The Court finds that Petitioners have not shown that Respondent’s alleged interference with principles of state sovereignty demonstrates a callous disregard for their constitutional rights,” Judge Boulee wrote.
The judge did note that portions of the 18-page affidavit were “problematic” and, in some instances, misleading. But he ultimately concluded that the warrant included both inculpatory and exculpatory information, stating that the affidavit “Special Agent Evans presented the Magistrate Judge with facts that both hurt and helped him.”
“This is not a situation where an officer left out all the facts that might undermine probable cause or where an officer intentionally lied,” he wrote.
“This Court acknowledges that the events leading up to this case are, in a variety of ways, unprecedented. But the ‘Richey test has been in place for nearly fifty years’ and ‘its limits apply no matter who the government is investigating,'” Judge Boulee wrote in his ruling. “To apply the law differently here because of what this case is about, or whose records are at issue, would ‘defy our Nation’s foundational principle that our law applies to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank.'”
“Each of the factors, including the first and most important factor – callous disregard – weights against this Court’s exercise of jurisdiction,” he continued.
Read the District Court’s ruling:
The Gateway Pundit has previously covered many of the critical issues that were included in the FBI’s affidavit and are currently under investigation.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
