Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts discusses unsealed affidavit in FBI's raid of elections hub
By Donesha Aldridge, 11 Alive
ATLANTA — Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts is responding after the affidavit used to justify the search warrant served at the Fulton County elections hub was unsealed on Tuesday.
The 2020 election has been a point of contention in Georgia for years following President Donald Trump's loss in the state. There were claims of fraud that have been debunked multiple times. Pitts said the accusations in the affidavit include unproven conspiracy theories and lies.
"Fulton County 2020 elections have been examined, they've been reexamined, they've been audited, they've been hand-counted under a microscope. In every instance, we come up clean. And any honest review going forward will also be clean," he said.
Pitts said the county attorney is currently reviewing the affidavit. Pitts said he would be working through the night with the legal team about the matter.
"These accusations have already been debunked, but here we go again on a merry-go-round," he said. "Fulton County will fight, will fight this with every resource that's at our disposal."
Pitts has also requested that the court order the items taken during an FBI raid last month returned. A federal judge decided over the weekend to make the affidavit and search warrant documents available. Officials were given until 5 p.m. Tuesday to unseal the affidavit.
Pitts said he's grateful that the underlying accusations in the affidavit are now public knowledge.
On Jan. 28, agents descended on the election building at 5600 Campbellton Fairburn Road in Union City and departed with the hundreds of boxes of materials. They were seeking records related to the 2020 election, officials said. That included all physical ballots and ballot images, tabulator tapes from voting machines, and voter rolls.
The affidavit claims there was "probable cause to believe that violations" of federal election law have been committed by unknown persons."
The affidavit further addresses probable cause, stating: "Following the November 3, 2020, presidential election, there were many allegations of electoral impropriety relating to the voting process and ballot counting in Fulton County, Georgia. Some of those allegations have been disproven, while some of those allegations have been substantiated, including through admissions by Fulton County. This warrant application is part of an FBI criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws."
Pitts said Trump has mentioned other states he wants to look at. He said he's reached out to some other counties out-of-state about the issue.
"Because this is not just about Fulton County, as I've said from day one. This is a national effort," Pitts said, claiming the president would like to have the federal government run elections instead of states.
Pitts thanked Congressional leaders Rep. Lucy McBath and Rep. Nikema Williams, along with Georgia's U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, for their support.
In the meantime, he said the county is working to ensure upcoming elections this year and in the years to come remain fair, open, and transparent.
“I want to ensure the voters of Fulton County that once again, what we have here in Fulton County are elections that they can count on. And also, we hope to protect any personal property that may have been seized by the FBI," he said
Fulton County Board of Commissioner Mo Ivory shared she wasn't surprised by the affidavit, adding that it included a lack of facts. However, as an attorney, she said, she's surprised that the warrant was even issued.
"No new finding of criminal activity, and that is what you need to find probable cause -- a new finding of criminal activity -- and I did not see that at all in the affidavit," she said.
Ivory said she believes this has been attempt to use the law to advance a political agenda by the president.
"I think that the affidavit shows that," she said.
Fulton County Board of Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. issued a statement that had similar sentiments.
“The unsealing of this affidavit confirms what many of us feared from the start: that this extraordinary FBI raid was rooted in recycled theories and politically motivated claims that have already been examined and rejected time and time again," Arrington's statement said in part.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger issued the following statement Tuesday:
"As Secretary of State, I’ve made Georgia the safest and most secure place to vote. Instead of wasting time and tax dollars trying to change the past with baseless and repackaged claims, let’s focus our efforts on building a safer, more affordable future for all hardworking Georgians," Raffensperger said.