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A federal judge Wednesday blocked the return of more than 600 boxes of 2020 general election ballots the FBI seized this year from an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in a 68-page order that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the rights of county officials were “callously disregarded” — a legal standard in the case. He ruled that the county hadn’t demonstrated a need for the ballots or that it would be irreparably harmed without them.

At the same time, Boulee criticized how the FBI obtained the ballots in a state President Donald Trump has falsely claimed he won in 2020.

“This Court acknowledges that the events leading up to this case are, in a variety of ways, unprecedented,” Boulee wrote, later adding that “the seizure in this case was certainly not perfect.”

Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chair Robb Pitts responded to the ruling by saying the county intends “to pursue all available legal options.”

“I certainly agree with the court that the FBI warrant was ‘defective’ ‘problematic’ and ‘troubling,’ and that the events in this case are ‘unprecedented,’” Pitts said in a statement. “But I strongly disagree with the judge’s denial of Fulton County’s request for the FBI to return the election records it wrongly seized on January 28.”

Tulsi Gabbard talking on the phone wearing a black ballcap and puffer jacket. — National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard at the election hub in Union City in January.Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters file

The FBI has argued that it is investigating “irregularities” in the 2020 election in Fulton County. An affidavit that was part of the search warrant granted to seize the ballots said the seizure was focused on purported issues including missing ballot images and duplicate ballots.

Fulton County sued the federal government in February over the seizure. A leading elections expert told the court last month that the evidence the FBI used to justify its actions didn’t “make sense,” saying that the ballot irregularities the bureau identified didn’t constitute a crime and that witnesses the federal government had based its investigations on seemed misinformed.

Under a grand jury subpoena made public Monday, the Justice Department is trying to force Fulton County to reveal the names and contact information of election staff members and volunteers who worked during the 2020 presidential election.

After the election, Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state.

Fulton County was also at the heart of an election interference case that involved charges against Trump, who denied any wrongdoing, and more than a dozen of his allies. The charges in that case were dropped by the prosecutor who took over the investigation after District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the case over conflict-of-interest allegations.