Warnock Questions Fulton County Commissioner Over Trump-Directed FBI Seizure of 2020 Ballots

As President Trump attempts to rig the rules ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Senator Reverend Warnock questioned Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory in a Wednesday spotlight hearing on election integrity

The hearing follows a January FBI raid on a Fulton County election office, spurred by baseless claims from President Trump that the 2020 presidential election was stolen

A review by President Trump's Department of Justice during his first term was unable to find any evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of the 2020 presidential election

Senator Reverend Warnock: "The 2020 election has been examined and litigated over and over again, yet the President continues to spread conspiracy theories and outright lies"

Watch Senator Reverend Warnock at Wednesday's Spotlight Hearing HERE

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) questioned Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory in a spotlight hearing on election integrity. The hearing focused on how states, localities, and civil society are pushing back against the Trump Administration's continued attacks on states' election administration authority and to offer a blueprint to states as they prepare for November's midterms. The hearing also focused on the escalating threats from President Trump to assert control over elections amid his baseless claims regarding the 2020 presidential election.

"Let's be clear: the lies President Trump continues to tell about the 2020 election are meant to create the pretext to interfere in this year's midterm elections," said Senator Reverend Warnock."The 2020 election has been examined and litigated over and over again, yet the President continues to spread conspiracy theories and outright lies. Our votes are our voices, and we need to be loud so that they cannot silence us."

In January, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at an elections office in Fulton County and seized nearly 700 boxes of original ballots and records from the 2020 presidential election. The search was related to an effort by President Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate alleged voter fraud in the county, which has long been a centerpiece of President Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. During the search, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey were both observed on the scene. A review by President Trump's own DOJ during his first term was unable to find any evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of the 2020 presidential election.

In addition to the January raid in Fulton County, the DOJ has filed a lawsuit against Fulton County for its election records. The DOJ is also suing two dozen states for non-public voter roll information. In February, Senator Warnock, Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), and Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding answers and an immediate briefing from the DOJ following the raid of the Fulton County elections center.

Watch the Senator's full exchange HERE

See a transcript of the exchange between Senator Warnock and Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory below:

Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): "Thank you very much, Senator Padilla and welcome to our entire panel - thank you very much for being here. Last month, the Trump administration raided Fulton County, Georgia and they took our voters' 2020 ballots. The 2020 election has been examined and litigated over and over again, yet the President continues to spread conspiracy theories and outright lies as recently as last night. Let's be clear: these are lies are meant to create the pretext to interfere in this year's midterm elections and we won't let that happen. Commissioner Ivory - first, thank you for your service to Fulton County and to the people of Georgia - when you first heard about the FBI rai, you reported that you headed over to the Fulton County elections office immediately, is that right?

Commissioner Mo Ivory (MI): "Correct. I got a text and then I jumped in my car and went over, because I was worried about the workers."

SRW: "Right. And when you arrived, what did you see?"

MI: "As soon as I got there, I was led inside, and there were approximately anywhere from about 40 to 50 FBI agents. They were standing around, sort of everybody was waiting. The first warrant that they served was procedurally incorrect, so they had to go back and correct it, because it was served to our Director of Registration and Elections, and she is not the not in the chain of custody of the ballots. It is our Clerk of Superior Court. So, it took a few hours after that for that warrant to be corrected, and then they came back and they began the raid."

SRW: "So they came and they had the wrong warrant. What did they tell you that they were doing? How did they explain their presence in Fulton County?"

MI: "There was very little conversation, though. They told us to step back. They were here to get everything related to 2020, and that they would go in and get what they needed. And there was very little conversation."

SRW: "Now, this was an FBI raid, correct?"

MI: "Correct."

SRW: "And we all saw it, but I just want to establish that for the record. This was a raid by the FBI?"

MI: "Yes."

SRW: "But Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, was on the scene. Is that correct?"

MI: "Correct."

SRW: "Do you know what she was doing there? You saw her yourself?"

MI: "Yes, I did."

SRW: "Do you know what she was doing there?"

MI: "I don't know why she was there."

SRW: "Okay, did the FBI tell you where they were taking the ballots or what they were going to do with them?"

MI: "No."

SRW: "Since the raid, have you received any information about how the ballots are being handled or what measures are in place to ensure that no one is tampering with those ballots?"

MI: "No."

SRW: "What types of sensitive voter data were contained in the boxes of ballots and other materials taken by the FBI?"

MI: "The materials included were the actual ballots, recap sheets, results, tapes and absentee ballot envelopes that contained personally identifiable information."

SRW: "As a commissioner, as a servant of the people of Fulton County. Are you concerned about what the administration will do with such sensitive data from Fulton County voters?"

MI: "Yes."

SRW: "Thank you so very much for your testimony. I have demanded an explanation from Pam Bondi about this raid. So far, I have not heard back from her. She has not offered one, but we'll keep demanding answers, because if we don't stand up now, they won't stop with Fulton County. We saw this in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when Attorney General Bondi attempted to seize the state voters' role in exchange for the withdrawal of ICE agents. They literally said, 'You want ICE out of your community? Hand over your voter rolls.' If you want to end the occupation of your city - and I call it that because there are 600 police officers, over 3000 federal agents. This is their project. They are already trying to cast doubt on the 2026 elections. Commissioner Ivory, what keeps you up at night when you think about the midterm election, when you think about the seizing of voter rolls or voter records in Fulton County, a ransom note from the Attorney General to the people of Minneapolis. Does that bother you at all as you think about the midterm elections?"

MI: "Yes. I mean, what we're seeing is a preview of what could happen nationally, which is attempted takeovers from multiple angles. I worry about the election workers, who are everyday people coming to work to support their families and feel intimidated just going to work every day. The Fulton County Republican Party attempted to nominate two known election deniers to our board of registrations and elections as a part of this, it's a complete movement. So what keeps me up at night is knowing that we in Fulton County are able and have secure, fair and free elections, but voter suppression is a tactic that keeps people at home, and we have to fight to make sure that people know that their vote is important and that they have the right to exercise it.

SRW: "Thank you so much. It's very important for those of us in Congress to stand up against these moves by the President, and by the way, it shouldn't be a partisan issue. The great thing about America is we have, we have robust arguments, and then the people get to have their say. And so we have to do everything we can here, but part of the effort of voter suppression is to so demoralize voters that they don't bother so part of the answer is that the people of Fulton County and all across Georgia and all across the country have to show up and demand that our voices be heard. Thank you very much."

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