Judge Says DOJ Can Keep Georgia Ballots Seized in Vote Probe

The Trump administration can keep 2020 election ballots and other materials it seized in January from a Georgia county in connection with President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that voting was mired by fraud that led to his defeat, a federal judge ruled.

US District Judge J.P. Boulee acknowledged “the events leading up to this case are, in a variety of ways, unprecedented,” but concluded that he didn’t have the authority to demand the return of thousands of ballots seized by the Justice Department as part of its investigation of 2020 election results to determine whether any crimes had been committed.