Federal Court Unseals Dispute Over Grand Jury Subpoena for Fulton County Election Records

A federal court unsealed documents showing a legal dispute between Fulton County, Georgia, and the Justice Department over a grand jury subpoena for contact information of individuals who helped administer the 2020 general election. The subpoena seeks names, home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of election workers.

County officials filed a motion to quash the subpoena on May 4, arguing it is overly broad and threatens worker privacy.

A hearing on the motion took place on May 19.

The court set additional briefing deadlines for later this month and ordered that the subpoena not be enforced while the motion remains under review. In a May 28 filing, a special attorney to the attorney general urged the court to reject the county's motion.

The attorney argued that assessing possible future charges before the investigation concludes would circumvent the grand jury's investigative role.

The case stems from an ongoing federal grand jury investigation. In late January, federal agents executed a search warrant and seized more than 600 boxes of election-related records from the Fulton County Elections Hub. County officials stated that they will continue efforts to protect the rights of election officials and workers.

Lawyers for the county, including Norm Eisen and Abbe Lowell, have been admitted as counsel in the case. The unsealed docket allows public access to future filings as the court weighs whether to enforce the subpoena.