Judge quashes DOJ subpoena seeking Fulton County election worker info

The judge blocked a subpoena, saying the information it sought was "staggering."

A federal judge on Tuesday quashed a DOJ subpoena seeking the names and personal information of Fulton County's 2020 election workers, marking the latest in a string of rulings limiting what some judges have characterized as the Trump administration's abuse of prosecutorial or investigative powers.

In the ruling, U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II called the April subpoena "staggering," noting that it sought the names, residential addresses, personal telephone numbers and other personal identifying information from essentially every person in the county who worked on the 2020 election, as part of the Trump administration's ongoing election probe.

"For reasons explained hereinbelow, the Court agrees with Fulton County that, in pursuing the Subpoena, the DOJ is engaged in an "arbitrary fishing expedition," such that the Subpoena is unreasonable and must be quashed," the ruling said.

Judge Ray, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, took issues with other elements of the subpoena, including the statute of limitations, which he said would largely be five years for crimes related to the 2020 election and thus expired.

"Without a showing that the subpoenaed information will result in a prosecutable crime, the Court finds the DOJ's need for the subpoenaed information to be questionable, at best," the judge's ruling said.

Judge Ray also said the subpoena would effectively "chill" efforts to recruit poll workers in the future.

"Those who work to run elections ... should be valued and are necessary for successful elections in Fulton County going forward," the ruling said.

A Justice Department spokesperson, responding to the ruling, said, "The district court's ruling that the probable expiration of statutes of limitations prevents the grand jury from investigating the 2020 election in Georgia is at odds with numerous holdings of the Supreme Court. Because the court's order jeopardizes both the historic purview of the grand jury and a long-delayed assessment of 2020 election processes, the Department is considering all options to challenge."

Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts lauded Tuesday's ruling, saying in a statement, "For months, Fulton County has challenged the baseless allegations of fraud in Georgia's handling of the 2020 election ... Fulton County will continue to do all that is needed to assure Georgia citizens that our election process is fair and proper and to show that the attacks against it are baseless."

FBI agents in January seized 700 boxes containing