A federal judge in Georgia ruled that the Department of Justice must reveal the names of three witnesses in a case over the 2020 election ballot seizure. The decision came because their identities are already publicly known. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a Trump appointee, ordered the unredacted affidavits filed within two days.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee presided over a Fulton County, Georgia, lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's January search of the county's Elections Hub. The county demanded the return of seized 2020 election ballots and tabulators, calling the warrants devoid of probable cause and a constitutional violation based on speculative hearsay. The probe traced back to Kurt Olsen, a 2020 election denier who later became director of election security and integrity and spoke with then-President Trump on January 6, 2021. Judge Boulee ruled on Monday that most witnesses did not oppose revealing their identities, but witnesses 2, 3, and 11 objected to removing redactions. He sided with journalist Justin Glawe, who argued it was bizarre to hide names of public officials already identifiable from redacted affidavits and public reports. The judge noted that public documents described witness 2 as the Republican-appointed Georgia State Election Board member and former obstetrician, witness 3 as the current House-appointed SEB member, and witness 11 as a Fulton County Commissioner who worked as a 2020 poll worker. Reports from 11Alive and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution identified Republican commissioner Bridget Thorne and SEB member Janelle King, while Glawe linked Dr. Janice Johnston to the obstetrician. Two witnesses had outed themselves in news reports, Boulee said, adding that if privacy was a true concern, identifying details should have been redacted. The DOJ raised worries about privacy, retaliation, and harassment from confirming their roles in the election crime investigation, but the judge emphasized the public importance of the 2020 election and Georgia elections. Boulee granted Glawe's motion to intervene and ordered the DOJ to file unredacted affidavits within two days.
