Judge quashes subpoena on 2020 Georgia election workers

A U.S. federal judge blocked a grand jury subpoena seeking information about Georgia election workers involved in the 2020 election, in a defeat for the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into the way the election was conducted in the Atlanta region.

The Georgia election was one of the main targets of President Donald Trump's allegations that there was voter fraud.

U.S. District Judge William Ray called the breadth of the subpoena, which sought information about Fulton County election workers, "striking." He stated that the use of subpoena power to investigate the 2020 election was not legitimate given the statute of limitations for any possible crime.

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In a previous court hearing, it was revealed that the Department of Justice intended to interview election workers.

"In this Court's view, the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) does not have a need to enforce the subpoena that is greater than the disclosure burden imposed on Fulton County and therefore the Court will not enforce it," the judge said.

The federal court case revealed two reasons why the Department of Justice wanted to reexamine the outcome of the 2020 election in Fulton County.

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Federal investigators alleged that Fulton County possibly failed to preserve images of 2020 election ballots "for the period required by law," the judge said in the ruling released Tuesday.

The Justice Department also "alleges that a number of the original 2020 election ballots that were seized through a search warrant appear suspicious," the judge noted.

The judge stated that it was possible that the DOJ was not using a valid grand jury action when requesting the personal data of 2020 election workers.

"No evidence has been presented to the Court that the Northern District of Georgia Grand Jury itself seeks this information, rather than the out-of-district prosecutors who the U.S. Department of Justice appointed to lead this investigation and who issued this subpoena on behalf of the Grand Jury," the judge wrote.

Trump administration's legal defeats pile up
Tuesday's Trump administration defeat is one of several legal losses the administration has suffered as the president continues to focus on his baseless claim of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election. In the wake of those defeats, the DOJ this week made new attempts to get involved in election administration.

A letter sent by the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to a state elections agency, obtained by CNN, threatened criminal punishment for election officials who mail ballots to noncitizens.

The threat comes as the DOJ faces legal hurdles in its attempts to obtain data-free voter rolls from each state to conduct its own audit of voter records, which may contain sensitive information such as Social Security numbers.

Several states, including Arizona and Minnesota, received the letters.

"Any election official, including the state's chief election officer, who knowingly keeps noncitizens on state voter rolls or facilitates noncitizens to receive and cast ballots may be subject to criminal liability," Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, wrote in the letter.

She further stated that any other "intentional act intended to dilute citizens' votes" could also constitute a federal crime.

The Justice Department also informed election officials in Detroit and two other Michigan cities that it intended to send election observers to the state's August primaries.

State and local officials pushed back strongly against department letters that suggested cities had not complied with federal election laws in 2024.

Michigan's Secretary of State and the state's attorney general also said Monday that three cities have received letters from the Department of Justice. The cities - Lansing, East Lansing and Detroit - are all Democratic Party strongholds.

The DOJ is asking Michigan election officials for certain records related to election worker training and other aspects of election administration, according to the department's June 24 letter to Detroit, obtained by CNN.

In a letter sent Tuesday in response to the department, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey stated that the DOJ's allegations were based on "falsehoods" and denied that there had been long lines at some polling places, as the department claimed in its letter to Detroit.

Federal election observers are routine inspectors of the electoral process and are usually sent to different parts of the country before elections.

Dhillon responded to concerns from state and local officials in a video posted to social media on Tuesday, saying: "To be clear, both Republican and Democratic administrations have sent observers to Michigan and these other jurisdictions in the past. I think it's a great exercise of our duty of oversight and our duty of enforcement."

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and City Clerk Chris Swope said in a joint statement that the city welcomes election observers and will "gladly provide documents and information in response to all legal requests."

"Voting in Lansing is safe and secure, and there has never been a history or any indication of problems with our election process," the statement reads. "But let's be clear: Lansing voters will not be harassed or intimidated by poll watchers from the federal government or any other group."

Source: CNN