Headline Roundup • February 10th, 2026
Judge Orders Unsealing of Fulton County Election Warrant Affidavit
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A federal judge ordered that key court records tied to the FBI's seizure of election documents in Fulton County, Georgia be released by the end-of-business day on Tuesday.
The Order: US District Court Judge in Georgia J.P. Boulee issued an order Saturday requiring the public unsealing of the court docket and motions filed by both Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts and the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections. The ruling also stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) must release the search warrant affidavit which justified the FBI's search and seizure of documents at the Fulton County election facility. The names of nongovernmental witnesses will be redacted from the documents.
For Context: The ruling stemmed from an emergency lawsuit filed by Pitts and county election officials seeking the return of nearly 700 boxes of election records seized during the federal search. The search focused on records pertaining to the 2020 election, and according to the warrant cover sheet, sought items including ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls. Both parties in the case indicated that they were unopposed to the unsealing of the documents.
"Rigged Election": Some outlets on the right, like The Federalist (Right bias) highlighted the Election Oversight Group's 263-page report by Kevin Moncla alleging election irregularities and discrepancies in ballot counts raising what it called "serious concerns about the integrity of the election." M.D. Kittle, writing opinion for The Federalist, said the look into Fulton County elections by federal investigators is "long overdue" to see "what really went down in the rigged 2020 election." Kittle noted Pitt's emergency motion said federal law enforcement acted with "callous disregard for Fulton County voters' First Amendment rights." Kittle asked, "But what if Fulton County election officials acted with 'callous disregard' for the voting rights of Georgians and their fellow Americans," saying that "One thing is for certain: Fulton County elections officials are extremely anxious to get their election records back."
"Debunked Theories": Some outlets on the left, like ProPublica (Lean Left) also highlighted Moncla's report, calling it "debunked theories" and saying "his work may be fueling the federal government's ongoing investigations." Coverage from the outlet also pointed to Moncla being deemed "untrustworthy" by some, saying that "In 2004, Moncla pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor voyeurism charge and was subsequently ordered by a jury to pay $3.25 million in damages after secretly filming guests in his home bathroom."
Different Uses: While both ProPublica and The Federalist highlighted Moncla's report, ProPublica focused more on questions about Moncla's credibility and The Federalist focused more on the report itself, providing many details of the allegations made therein.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
More than five years after Fulton County, Georgia, became the epicenter of suspect election administration, it appears federal law enforcement officials are taking a long overdue closer look at what really went down in the rigged 2020 election. And by the close of business Tuesday, we could get a better idea of the case the FBI made to a Georgia magistrate judge to obtain the search warrant behind its Jan. 28 raid of the Atlanta-area warehouse where county elections officials house voting records.
Nicole Craine/The New York Times/Redux
A conservative researcher whose theories have often been rejected by Georgia election overseers and who once pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of voyeurism is emerging as a central figure in the investigation that culminated in the FBI's shocking seizure of 2020 election records from Fulton County, Georgia, in late January.
