FBI Director Kash Patel just confirmed a federal judge signed off on probable cause for the 2020 election investigation.
Democrats thought they buried Trump's claims about Fulton County for good.
But Tulsi Gabbard got caught at an FBI raid in one spot that has Democrats losing their minds.
FBI Seizes 700 Boxes Of 2020 Ballots From Fulton County
FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Union City, Georgia on Wednesday.
The warrant authorized seizure of all physical ballots from the 2020 General Election, tabulator tapes from voting machines, electronic ballot images, and voter rolls.
Agents walked out with an estimated 700 boxes of election records.
FBI Director Kash Patel told The Charlie Kirk Show Thursday that a federal magistrate judge determined there was probable cause to execute the search warrant.
"What we did yesterday was, we presented our facts and the findings of the investigation, and the judge determined there was probable cause, and then you saw the results, we went and executed the search warrant and collected the information pursuant to that search warrant to continue our investigation," Patel explained.
Patel said going through "truckloads" of evidence takes time and he couldn't predict where the investigation leads.
Fulton County is home to Atlanta and became ground zero for voter fraud complaints after Trump lost Georgia by 11,779 votes in 2020.
State officials conducted a machine recount and two hand recounts that all confirmed Biden won.
But the search warrant signals the FBI is pursuing criminal violations of two federal statutes.
One makes it a crime for election officials to intimidate voters or submit fraudulent ballots and voter registration applications.
The other requires election records to be retained for 22 months after any federal election.
The warrant states the seized materials "constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense" and had been "used as the means of committing a criminal offense."
Tulsi Gabbard Shows Up And Democrats Go Nuclear
Democrats went into full panic mode when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was photographed at the scene wearing a baseball cap and speaking on her phone near an FBI evidence truck loaded with boxes.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner blasted Gabbard's presence as either a national security violation or "a domestic political stunt designed to legitimize conspiracy theories that undermine our democracy."
"There are only two explanations for why the Director of National Intelligence would show up at a federal raid tied to Donald Trump's obsession with losing the 2020 election," Warner fumed.
"Either Director Gabbard believes there was a legitimate foreign intelligence nexus – in which case she is in clear violation of her obligation under the law to keep the intelligence committees 'fully and currently informed' of relevant national security concerns – or she is once again demonstrating her utter lack of fitness for the office that she holds," Warner added.
Warner and House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes fired off a letter demanding Gabbard appear before both committees immediately to explain herself.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence fired back that Gabbard's actions were "within her authorities."
"Director Gabbard recognizes that election security is essential for the integrity of our republic and our nation's security. As DNI, she has a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure and protecting against exploitation," the ODNI spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson noted that "electronic voting systems have been and are vulnerable to exploitation" and that "President Trump's directive to secure our elections was clear."
Federal law authorizes the DNI to designate and oversee a counterintelligence officer to lead and manage counterintelligence matters related to election security.
Trump also directed Gabbard's office to assess foreign interference after every election during his first term.
Trump Sent Gabbard On Mission To Expose 2020 Vulnerabilities
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Trump directly tasked Gabbard with investigating election security vulnerabilities in 2020.
Gabbard has regularly briefed Trump and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles about her months-long investigation into election integrity.
She's expected to produce a report on her findings.
Two senior officials told NBC News that Gabbard's presence in Fulton County was unnecessary and wasn't requested by the Justice Department.
"It seems to be an attempt to make herself relevant," one official said.
Trump defended Gabbard Thursday night at the Kennedy Center.
"She's working very hard on trying to keep the elections safe, and she's done a very good job," Trump told reporters.
"You got a signed judge's order in Georgia, and you're going to see some interesting things happening. They've been trying to get there for a long time," Trump added.
Gabbard hinted at her election integrity investigations back in April during a Cabinet meeting.
"We continue our extensive investigations around exposing the very serious issues we have related to election integrity, illegal abuses of FISA, Crossfire Hurricane, and others," Gabbard said at the time.
Fulton County Board Chairman Robb Pitts held a press conference blasting the FBI raid as "intimidation and distraction."
"Every audit, every recount, every court ruling has confirmed what we the people of Fulton County already knew: Our elections were fair and accurate and every legal vote was counted," Pitts claimed.
"These ongoing efforts are about intimidation and distraction, not facts," Pitts added.
But Patel's confirmation that a federal judge found probable cause for a criminal investigation tells a very different story.
Trump promised at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this month that "people will soon be prosecuted" for what happened in 2020.
Gabbard showing up in Fulton County with FBI agents seizing 700 boxes of ballots suggests Trump wasn't bluffing.
Sources:
- Breanne Deppisch, David Spunt, Ashley Oliver, Alec Schemmel, "FBI's Fulton County warrant sought election records, voter rolls from 2020 election," Fox News, January 29, 2026.
- Kate Santaliz, "Fulton County official slams 2020 ballot seizure as FBI director says there was 'probable cause,'" ABC News, January 29, 2026.
- Ryan J. Reilly, "Tulsi Gabbard under scrutiny for showing up at FBI raid of Georgia election hub," NBC News, January 29, 2026.
- Philip Wegmann, "Why Is Tulsi Gabbard in Georgia? Because Trump Sent Her There," RealClearPolitics, January 30, 2026.
- Sean Moran, "Exclusive: Spy Chief Tulsi Gabbard Visited Fulton County Election Site to Ensure 'Integrity of Our Elections,'" Breitbart, January 30, 2026.
- Associated Press, "Top Democrats on intelligence committees question Gabbard's presence at election office raid," PBS News, January 29, 2026.
