A federal judge in Atlanta on Tuesday blocked a Department of Justice subpoena seeking the names and personal information of nearly 3,000 Fulton County, Georgia, election workers who served during the 2020 presidential election, dealing a setback to the Trump administration’s effort to investigate alleged voter fraud in the county.
U.S. District Judge William Ray, who was appointed by Trump in 2018, ruled that the DOJ’s request for names, residential addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and other identifying information was “unreasonable” and must be quashed. Ray wrote that the subpoena’s scope was “staggering” and threatened to chill participation in future elections.
“The Subpoena requests disclosure of personal identifying information of thousands of employees and volunteers who participated in activities related to the 2020 Election,” Ray wrote in his 28-page opinion. “Such a large disclosure of information threatens to chill participation in future elections, which will surely impact Fulton County.”
The Justice Department had obtained the grand jury subpoena in April as part of what it characterized as an investigation into potential criminal actions following the 2020 election, including an alleged failure by Fulton County to preserve ballot images. But Ray found the DOJ’s legal justification flawed, noting that the statute of limitations for any election-related crimes committed in 2020 has expired.
Ray wrote that even if he granted the subpoena, the information “would not lead to information that could be used to charge anyone with anything, at least not any viable charge.” He emphasized that grand juries exist to investigate potential crimes and bring viable indictments—not to serve as a tool for the DOJ to obtain private information without legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Fulton County officials had opposed the subpoena, arguing it was meant to “target, harass, and punish” the President’s perceived political opponents and was “grossly over broad and untethered to any reasonable need.” Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts celebrated the ruling, calling it a victory for protecting election workers from baseless attacks.
The ruling reflects broader tensions over the Trump administration’s push to reinvestigate the 2020 election in Georgia, a state Trump has repeatedly claimed he won despite no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump has focused his allegations on Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county and home to the Democratic stronghold of Atlanta.
The DOJ responded to Ray’s decision by saying the ruling “jeopardizes both the historic purview of the grand jury and a long-delayed assessment of 2020 election processes.” A DOJ spokesperson argued that the district court’s reasoning about expired statutes of limitations “is at odds with numerous holdings of the Supreme Court” and said the Department is considering all options to challenge the decision.
Sources
- CNBC — Judge’s order blocking DOJ subpoena, Ray’s reasoning on statute of limitations and staggering scope
- Politico — Judge William Ray’s ruling, DOJ characterization of subpoena as unreasonable, Fulton County’s opposition
- Georgia Recorder — Details on nearly 3,000 workers affected, the 28-page opinion, Ray’s privacy concerns, Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts’ statement
