2020 – Biden wins Georgia by just over 12,000 votes after a hand recount, the first Democratic presidential victory in the state since 1992, and multiple audits and court rulings uphold the result. [1]

Aug 2023 – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicts former President Donald Trump and 18 co‑defendants for an alleged scheme to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. [14]

Nov 2023 – A Georgia judge dismisses the indictment, citing an appearance of impropriety due to the DA’s romantic relationship with a hired prosecutor, effectively ending the state criminal case. [14]

2024 – Independent monitors report marked improvement in Fulton County’s election administration, describing the 2024 general election as “organized and orderly” after earlier criticisms of the 2020 primary. [22]

2025 – Trump returns to the White House and a pending federal indictment against him is dropped, removing a legal obstacle to his administration’s election‑security agenda. [1]

Dec 2025 – The Department of Justice files a civil lawsuit demanding Fulton County produce all used and void ballots, stubs, signature envelopes, and corresponding digital files from the 2020 general election, laying groundwork for the FBI’s later search. [1]

Jan 28, 2026 – FBI agents execute a court‑authorized search warrant at the Fulton County Election Hub in Union City, loading roughly 700 boxes of ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic images, and voter‑roll data onto trucks for analysis at the agency’s Records Complex in Virginia; DNI Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey attend the operation. [10][18][22]

Jan 28, 2026 – President Trump tells CNN that DNI Tulsi Gabbard is “working very hard to try to keep the election safe,” signaling his endorsement of her involvement in the raid. [9][8]

Jan 29, 2026 – Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory denounces the raid as “an assault on your vote,” reflecting local officials’ anger over the federal seizure. [1][14]

Jan 29, 2026 – FBI confirms that the seized 700 boxes will be transferred to its Central Records Complex in Virginia for forensic examination. [10]

Jan 30, 2026 – Analysts note that Trump’s persistent 2020 fraud narrative shapes the administration’s midterm strategy, while election‑security experts warn the Fulton County ballots have already been counted multiple times and the statute of limitations has expired. [9]

Jan 31, 2026 – Gabbard appears at the Fulton County site; Democratic secretaries of state call her involvement “election‑denialism conspiracy BS,” while Republican officials express enthusiasm for her findings. [8]

Feb 2, 2026 – Fulton County announces it will file a motion in the Northern District of Georgia this week to contest the FBI’s warrant, invoke Rule 41(g) to demand the return of the seized ballots, and request forensic accounting of the materials. [7]

Feb 3, 2026 – Gabbard writes to congressional intelligence committees that President Trump personally asked her to attend the search and that she facilitated a brief speaker‑phone call allowing him to thank the agents, a call that includes no investigative directives. [16][6]

Feb 3, 2026 – Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche first claims Trump had no role in the raid, then later praises the president’s “talks with law enforcement all week long,” highlighting contradictory administration statements. [6][5]

Feb 4, 2026 – Fulton County files a federal lawsuit demanding the return of the seized 2020 ballots and unsealing of the warrant affidavit, accusing the government of overreach and seeking to protect voter‑information integrity. [11]

Feb 5, 2026 – Senate leaders split over Gabbard’s participation: Democrat Mark Warner calls her presence a breach of intelligence norms, while Republican Tom Cotton declines comment, underscoring partisan disagreement on oversight. [4][3]

Feb 6, 2026 – Conflicting accounts emerge as Trump shifts from praising Gabbard’s “hard work” to claiming he “didn’t know” why she was there; Deputy AG Blanche distances the DOJ from her involvement, citing lack of a formal role. [3]

Feb 17, 2026 – Fulton County accuses the DOJ of omitting prior investigations and misrepresenting witness credibility in the warrant application, alleging the magistrate judge was misled; a federal judge is scheduled next week to hear the county’s request for the return of the seized ballots. [2]

Feb 18, 2026 – A federal judge is set to consider Fulton County’s motion to compel the return of the 700 seized ballot boxes, a key legal test of the warrant’s validity. [2]