The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office was forced out this month after questioning the Justice Department’s renewed push to probe Fulton County’s role in the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
Paul Brown was ousted after expressing concerns about the FBI’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s longstanding and unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in the county anchored by Atlanta, and for refusing to carry out the searches and seizures of records tied to the 2020 election, according to the sources, who spoke to MS NOW on condition of anonymity.
The FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center near Atlanta, as part of a criminal investigation into records from the 2020 presidential election. Authorities seized 700 boxes related to the county’s 2020 general election.
Brown was appointed to oversee all investigations and personnel in Georgia last February. The Associated Press reported that the FBI moved to replace him last week.
Trump has repeatedly amplified the baseless claim that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him in Georgia, despite multiple audits, recounts and court rulings confirming that Joe Biden legitimately won the state’s electoral votes.
Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts called the investigation a distraction and an intimidation tactic from the Trump administration.
“Any honest review of these files will show what every previous review has shown. Fulton County elections are fair and lawful, and the outcome of the 2020 election will not change,” Pitts told reporters Thursday.
During a news conference Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized that election integrity is “important to this administration,” but did not explicitly comment on the Georgia investigation.
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for MS NOW.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.