Trump links seizure to conspiracy allegations
Within hours of the search, Trump reposted and commented on multiple messages tying the FBI action to unsupported claims that foreign actors altered U.S. vote totals in 2020. One repost asserted that Italian military satellites hacked American voting machines “to flip votes from Trump to Biden,” alleging that China coordinated the operation while the CIA and FBI concealed evidence. “This is only the beginning,” Trump added in his own comment. “Prosecutions are coming.”
The Italian-satellite narrative first surfaced in late 2020 and was briefly examined in early 2021, when then–White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asked the Justice and Defense Departments to investigate. No agency found credible information corroborating the allegation, and cybersecurity officials from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency previously called the 2020 contest “the most secure in American history.”
Additional false statements about 2016
Trump’s overnight postings also revisited the 2016 election. One message claimed, without evidence, that former President Barack Obama “conspired with foreign powers … four times to overthrow the United States government in 2016.” The post overlooked the fact that Obama was still in office during that period. Multiple bipartisan investigations, including a detailed review by the Senate Intelligence Committee, have found no indication that domestic or foreign officials manipulated vote tallies in 2016.
Georgia results previously upheld
Georgia officials conducted a machine recount, a manual hand tally and a risk-limiting audit after the 2020 election, each confirming Biden’s statewide margin of roughly 12,000 votes. Courts at the state and federal levels rejected more than a dozen lawsuits challenging the outcome, citing lack of evidence. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who certified the results, have consistently said there was no widespread fraud capable of altering the outcome.
Sidney Powell reappears amid renewed claims
Among the people who pushed some of the most sensational 2020 theories was attorney Sidney Powell, who in November 2020 claimed without proof that Venezuelan software designed at the direction of the late President Hugo Chávez had corrupted U.S. voting machines. Powell pleaded guilty in 2023 to state charges of conspiring to interfere with election duties and received six years’ probation and a $6,000 fine. On Thursday morning, Justice Department official Ed Martin posted a photo with Powell on the platform X, writing, “Good morning, America. How are ya’?” The image suggested Powell remains engaged with figures who continue to dispute the 2020 outcome.
Local officials seek clarification
Fulton County elections director Nadine Williams said staff were “cooperating fully with federal authorities” but emphasized that the seized materials had already been archived in accordance with state requirements. County commissioners requested a briefing from the FBI to understand the scope and purpose of the warrant. As of Thursday afternoon, no federal or state charges related to the seized ballots had been announced.
Imagem: Internet
Election-law specialists noted that federal agents rarely take custody of certified ballots more than five years after an election. “It is an extraordinary step that raises questions about what specific evidence investigators believe is contained in those paper records,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. He added that the search “does not validate any of the internet rumors about hacked machines or foreign satellites.”
Political and legal backdrop
The seizure occurs as Trump, who has formally launched a campaign to return to the White House in 2028, faces multiple state and federal indictments, including allegations that he attempted to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia. A Fulton County grand jury in August 2025 charged Trump and several associates with racketeering for pressuring officials to “find” votes and convene false electors. Trump has pleaded not guilty and framed the prosecutions as politically motivated.
Separately on Wednesday, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department, accusing both agencies of failing to protect his confidential tax information. His legal team claims that leaks from within the government led to public disclosure of portions of his tax returns, which showed years of minimal federal income tax payments.
No indication of election irregularities
To date, state and federal reviews have produced no evidence that voting systems were compromised in Georgia or elsewhere in 2020. Dominion Voting Systems, the primary vendor in Fulton County, successfully sued several conservative outlets and figures for defamation over false hacking claims, securing a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News in 2023.
Despite the repeated findings, Trump’s latest posts suggest he intends to keep the subject in the public spotlight as the criminal cases against him advance. Analysts expect the Georgia seizure, however limited its scope, to feature prominently in his future statements.
Crédito da imagem: Alyssa Pointer/Reuters
