Judge William M. Ray II Blocks DOJ Subpoena for Fulton County 2020 Election Workers

A federal judge blocked a Justice Department demand for the names, addresses and contact information for hundreds of 2020 election workers and volunteers in Georgia’s most populous county, Fulton County, after the DOJ served a subpoena on Fulton County in April.

U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II called the breadth of the department’s request “staggering” and concluded it served no valid investigative purpose, blocking the DOJ’s effort to use the grand jury subpoena to obtain personal information.

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The Hill reported that Ray found the DOJ could not use a grand jury subpoena “as their tool” to investigate President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.

The Associated Press said Ray ruled the DOJ cannot have the names and personal contact information for every person who worked during the 2020 election in Fulton County, and that the subpoena was meant to be quashed.

Ray’s order also cited that “the statute of limitations for any possible crime arising from the 2020 Election has long expired,” according to the AP.

In a Tuesday statement shared on social media, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the court’s order an “important win,” while warning that the Trump administration will continue to pursue the fraud investigation.

The Hill reported that a DOJ spokesperson told the outlet the department is “considering all options to challenge” Ray’s order, arguing the ruling conflicts with Supreme Court holdings.

AP News

Fox 5 Atlanta quoted Fulton County attorney Kamal Ghali arguing the disclosure would “terrify local workers and chill future participation in elections,” as Fulton County officials fought the request in court.

The Washington Post described Ray’s conclusion that the DOJ’s subpoena served no valid investigative purpose, after the judge said the request’s breadth was “staggering.”

CNN reported Ray said the use of subpoena power to investigate the 2020 election was not legitimate given the statute of limitations for any potential crime, and that the court proceeding revealed the DOJ intended to interview election workers.

The Hill said Ray’s order makes no opinion on the DOJ’s “legitimate interest” in investigating alleged fraud in the 2020 election, while also emphasizing that the grand jury power “cannot be used” without a legitimate law enforcement purpose.

NBC News reported that the DOJ argued the request for election workers’ contact information “would simply be a pathway to determine and speak with and interview certain individuals who worked at the polls,” but Ray ruled the subpoena was unreasonable and must be quashed.

AP News said the subpoena came after the FBI in January served a search warrant at the Fulton County election hub and seized hundreds of boxes of ballots and other documents from the 2020 election, and that a federal judge in May denied the county’s request to force the federal government to return the ballots.

CNN reported that the judge also found “No evidence has been presented to the Court that the actual Grand Jury in the Northern District of Georgia seeks this information,” pointing instead to “out-of-district prosecutors” serving the subpoena in the name of the grand jury.

In the wake of the ruling, the Washington Post said the DOJ’s subpoena was part of a broad investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss in the state, as the legal fight over Fulton County election workers continued.