DOJ taunts media critics after judge sides with feds on Georgia ballots

The Justice Department on Wednesday targeted journalists it viewed as biased on social media after a federal judge sided with the government in a dispute over 2020 ballots and election materials seized in Georgia’s Fulton County in January.

“Wrong again, MacFarlane,” a DOJ contact read. an X postThe case targeted the MeidasTouch journalist, who claimed that the ministry’s claims could not convince the judge.

In his 68-page ruling, Judge J.P. Boulee found that Fulton County did not prove its rights were violated when the FBI seized more than 600 boxes of election records. Boulee, a Trump appointee, rejected a request from county officials to return the boxes, handing the Trump administration a victory in its broader fight to investigate the 2020 election and prompting the Justice Department to mock skeptics in the media online.

The statement “We apologize for your loss, Anna” was used on the Ministry of Justice’s social media account. wrote About the Lawfare editor in a separate article.

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Boulee’s decision marked a victory in the Justice Department’s nationwide effort to investigate past elections in key battleground states, including Arizona and Michigan; Trump argues that the 2020 election was tainted by widespread fraud and is aggressively pushing for tighter election security measures ahead of the midterms.

The FBI had seized boxes containing 2020 ballots from the Fulton County Election Center and Operations Center after obtaining a court-approved search warrant. An underlying affidavit revealed that the bureau was investigating allegations of ballot irregularities and recordkeeping failures in Georgia, which Trump lost by a razor-thin margin to President Joe Biden and became ground zero for Trump’s claims of election fraud after 2020.

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Ballots will arrive at the Fulton County Election Center and Operations Center on election night, November 5, 2024, in Fairburn, GA. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Democrats, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who, upon learning of the investigation, called it the continuation of a “bitter losers’ battle.” They were widely criticized, including

Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners Rob PittsNamed in the ballot box seizure lawsuit, he previously described the investigation as “yet another outrageous act of federal overinterference designed to intimidate and chill participation in the election. … I will always defend our election workers and the truth.”

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Pitts and other Fulton County officials argued that the seizure of the boxes was illegal and that the government showed “callous disregard” for the county’s constitutional rights. But Boulee rejected those claims, acknowledging that the underlying affidavit was flawed and contained “disturbing” statements.

Left: Vehicles pass by the Fulton County Election Center and Operations Center sign on November 4, 2024 in Union City, Georgia. Right: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at The Villages Charter School on May 1, 2026 in The Villages, Florida. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images and Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images via AFP))

“While the affidavit is certainly far from perfect, this is not a case in which an officer omitted all facts that might undermine probable cause or in which an officer deliberately lied,” Boulee wrote, adding: “We cannot say that the affidavit’s deficiencies are inadequate enough to rise to the ‘high’ level.”[] the threshold of callous indifference.”

In his decision, Boulee relied on the fact that the investigation was still in its early stages and emphasized that federal authorities had obtained a valid arrest warrant supported by an affidavit. The affidavit listed allegations of missing ballot images, inconsistent recount totals and chain of custody issues, among other potential problems.

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In response to Boulee’s order, Pitts told Fox News Digital that he agreed with the judge’s assessment that the affidavit was “flawed” and “problematic.”

“But I strongly disagree with the judge’s denial of Fulton County’s request to return election records that the FBI mistakenly obtained on January 28,” Pitts said. he said, adding that county officials “will continue to support our election workers and Fulton County voters as always.” “We plan to actively pursue all available legal options.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Lawfare and MeidasTouch for comment.