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The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office was reportedly removed from his post after questioning the Trump administration’s renewed interest in investigating the role of Fulton county, Georgia, in the 2020 election.
The agent, Paul W Brown, had expressed concerns around the unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton county, which have been perpetuated by Donald Trump since he was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to an MS NOW report on Friday. Citing sources, MS NOW also reported that Brown refused to carry out searches and seizures of records connected to the election that Trump lost four years before winning a second presidency in 2024.
News of Brown’s ouster came after the justice department on Thursday executed a search warrant and seized records from the Fulton county elections office in the Atlanta area. Authorities seized 700 boxes related to 2020 election results in the county, which Biden won.
Trump’s national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, was also seen at the county’s election office that day, drawing concern from Democratic lawmakers about partisan overreach.
Brown was replaced the week before the service of the search warrant at the elections office, as first reported by the Associated Press. The personnel decision was not publicized by the FBI, and the AP said the reason for Brown’s removal was not immediately clear.
Robb Pitts, the Fulton county board of commissioners chair, spoke out against the Trump administration’s decision to raid the office, arguing that it was unjustified political retribution. Pitts also reaffirmed that, despite the search warrant, the county had nothing to hide.
“Fulton county elections are fair and lawful, and the outcome of the 2020 election will not change,” he said. “Period.”
The Guardian has reached out to the FBI for comment.
Election integrity experts have said that the 2020 presidential race was the most secure to date. And dozens of legal challenges brought by Trump’s allies that sought to challenge his defeat in that election failed.
Nonetheless, Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him in favor of Biden.
Trump has not questioned the integrity of the 2024 presidential race, which he won against Vice-President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped his re-election campaign late in the contest.
