FBI Orders Surge of 260 Analysts for Fulton County 2020 Election Probe

The FBI has asked its field offices across the country to dedicate more than 200 staffers to its investigation of the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, according to an Associated Press memo obtained Thursday.

“The FBI is ramping up its investigation into the results in , by ordering field offices across the country to send investigative analysts to Atlanta to help evaluate thousands of records, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter”

CBS News

The memo calls for the FBI to “surge” 260 investigative analysts and staff operations specialists to the effort described as a “priority investigation,” with each assigned person conducting a check of an estimated 708 records by July 17.

CBS News

CNN reported that the memo seen by the network calls for the FBI to quickly bring in an additional 260 FBI intelligence officials on top of those already working in the Atlanta area.

NBC News reported that the FBI issued a memo requesting all field offices surge a total of over 250 personnel into what it described as a “priority effort” for Director Kash Patel’s office, centered on the investigation into the 2020 election in Georgia.

The Associated Press said President Donald Trump and his allies have made false claims that widespread election fraud cost him the 2020 election, and it noted that Georgia’s votes were counted three times, including once by hand, with each count affirming Democrat Joe Biden’s win.

The FBI’s surge comes as CNN said the investigation is ramping up amid weeks of efforts by the Justice Department and the Trump administration to ramp up election-related investigations, and it described the inquiry as tied to Trump’s false claim that the election was rigged.

CNN

CBS News reported that the memo calls on every FBI field office to assign analysts to reach a total of 260 analysts, with large field offices asked to contribute eight analysts each and small and medium offices asked to dedicate between three and five.

CBS News also said the case was referred to the FBI by Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who previously fought to help overturn the results of the 2020 election and now works for the Justice Department, and it said a judge in May denied a request by Fulton County to return the ballots that were seized.

NBC News reported that the Justice Department filed a subpoena in April to try to force the Fulton County, Ga., Board of Registration and Elections to release the names, addresses and contact information for 2020 election staff members and volunteers.

“As courts continue to block his attempt to take control of elections through presidential decree, President Donald Trump is doubling down on turning the country’s most prominent law enforcement and intelligence agencies against U”

Democracy Docket

CNN said some of the intelligence personnel will work on the investigation remotely, and it described the FBI’s ramp-up as building on a January warrant served at an elections office in Fulton County where the FBI seized 700 boxes of election materials.

The Associated Press said FBI agents in January seized hundreds of boxes containing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election in Georgia’s most populous county, and it said a Fulton County spokesperson declined to comment citing a pending investigation.

The Spec reported that the memo does not describe the investigation, but people familiar with the matter confirmed the request was to help with the Georgia 2020 election investigation, while the FBI declined to comment.