FULTON COUNTY, GA — A federal judge has blocked a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena seeking the names and personal information of Fulton County election workers involved in the 2020 election.
The subpoena requested the names, residential addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other personal identifying information for thousands of Fulton County employees and volunteers who worked on the 2020 election.
The ruling comes as the FBI reportedly plans to surge agents to Fulton County to review seized election documents.
U.S. District Judge William Ray described the subpoena as “staggering” and “unreasonable.”
Ray ruled there was a low need and a high burden for the subpoena, calling some of the government’s claims “disingenuous.” He also agreed with Fulton County that the request amounted to an “arbitrary fishing expedition.”
In his ruling, Ray wrote that while grand juries work with federal prosecutors, that does not give the Justice Department the authority to use a grand jury to do whatever it wants.
The judge also wrote that even if investigators found documents supporting claims that the 2020 election loss was unfair, the statute of limitations to bring charges has expired.
Ray said the subpoena could have a “chilling effect” on recruiting future poll workers.
He added that while people may continue investigating election claims, the power of a grand jury cannot be used for that purpose.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.