A federal judge has blocked the Department of Justice (DOJ) from obtaining the identities and personal information of thousands of individuals who helped administer the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, calling the request “unreasonable.”
U.S. District Judge William Ray II, appointed by former President Donald Trump, described the DOJ’s subpoena — which sought election workers’ names, home addresses, email addresses and phone numbers — as “staggering.”
Ray concluded that the request was driven by Trump’s repeated false claims that widespread voter fraud led to his loss in Georgia.
“In this Court’s view, the DOJ does not possess a need to enforce the subpoena greater than the burden disclosure would place on Fulton County, and as such, the Court will not enforce it,” Ray wrote.
“Fulton County is under no obligation to comply,” he added.
The DOJ pursued the subpoena months after the FBI raided Fulton County’s primary election facility, seizing 2020 election materials — including original ballots — as part of a criminal investigation.
Fulton County’s Board of Registration and Elections asked a federal court to block the subpoena, arguing it was overly broad and amounted to another attempt to target the president’s political opponents.
Federal officials maintained that the requested personal information was necessary to investigate potential criminal activity in the years following the election.
The ruling comes as the FBI has intensified its probe in Fulton County, reportedly assigning hundreds of analysts to assist the Atlanta Field Office in reviewing the seized materials.
In his order Tuesday, Judge Ray said the DOJ could not use the requested information to bring charges because “the statute of limitations for any possible crime arising from the 2020 Election has long expired.”
“An investigation of alleged criminal conduct…would not be a legitimate use of the Grand Jury and its subpoena power,” Ray wrote, noting that no valid indictment could result due to expired legal deadlines.
He also warned that releasing election workers’ personal information now would likely discourage future participation, particularly among those who volunteered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Those who work to run elections…should be valued and are necessary for successful elections in Fulton County going forward,” he wrote.
Ray further emphasized that grand jury authority is not unlimited, stating it does not permit the DOJ “to do whatever [it] wants,” since it operates under the court’s oversight.
“Is there anything wrong with the DOJ using the Grand Jury to subpoena these records? In this Court’s view, yes,” he wrote, adding that all Americans should be concerned about the government accessing private information without a legitimate purpose.
Although the subpoena was issued in the name of a grand jury in Georgia’s Northern District, Ray noted there is no clear evidence the grand jury itself requested the information. Instead, he said it appears to have been driven by out-of-district prosecutors appointed by the DOJ to lead the inquiry, including U.S. Attorney Dan Bishop, a Trump ally.
