Trump Had Unusual Call With F.B.I. Agents After Election Center Search

[demmiblue]

Source: NYT

By any measure, the F.B.I.’s search of an election center in Fulton County, Ga., last week was extraordinary. Agents seized truckloads of 2020 ballots, as President Trump harnessed the levers of government to not only buttress his false claims of widespread voter fraud, but also to try to build a criminal case against those he believes wronged him.

…

Behind closed doors, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, met with some of the same F.B.I. agents, members of the bureau’s field office in Atlanta, which is conducting the election inquiry, three people with knowledge of the meeting said. Neither could say why Ms. Gabbard, who also appeared on site at the search, was there, but her continued presence has raised eyebrows given that her role overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies does not include on-site involvement in criminal investigative work.

What occurred during the meeting was even further outside the bounds of normal law enforcement procedure. Ms. Gabbard used her cellphone to call Mr. Trump, who did not initially pick up but called back shortly after, the people said.

The president addressed the agents on speakerphone, asking them questions as well as praising and thanking them for their work on the inquiry, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/trump-fbi-phone-call-georgia-gabbard.html

---

Holy shit. Not only was Tulsi Gabbard present for the raid on Georgia's election center, she called Trump and put him on speaker phone to the FBI agents conducting the raid! (Gift link)

— Lindsay Beyerstein (@beyerstein.bsky.social) 2026-02-02T17:58:11.652Z

⚠️More on Tulsi Gabbard in Georgia:

• Trump personally ordered her there.
• Gabbard met with FBI agents searching ballots related to Trump’s conspiracy theory about the 2020 election being stolen.
• Gabbard called Trump who spoke to agents on speakerphone.

Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath.bsky.social) 2026-02-02T17:36:29.435Z

[AZJonnie]

1. Well, yeah, but ya know, it didn't happen "on the tarmac" so it's perfectly okay in this case

[FakeNoose]

2. All election ballots and related materials are the property of the State of Georgia

What gives the FBI authority to take this stuff?

[Ilsa]

4. I believe they had a warrant

to search and seize. I believe there is a low burden of proof for the warrant, per TV lawyers.

[chowder66]

3. Conspiracy theory: Did the Gabbard whistleblower know of plans to plant evidence?

[dflprincess]

5. Trump didn't order her there,

Putin did.

[SunSeeker]

15. Yup. Hillary warned us about Tulsi back in 2019.

[Puppyjive]

6. They are going to manufacture the lie.

Last edited Tue Feb 3, 2026, 09:48 AM - Edit history (1)

I don't trust them at all. They will sow the seeds of doubt using manufactured evidence. I hate all of them.

[lonely bird]

23. This👆

The “evidence” will be completely fabricated because what they have taken will not support the false God’s fever dream. The falsified evidence will likely be poorly done which will cause an uproar but won’t stop attempts by Trump to seize control of voting.

This is just further implementation of the Stalin method.

“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.”

Another step down the path of authoritarian Trumpism.

[Vinca]

7. Does the wannabe king realize if they cook the books and he decrees he won over Biden that he must leave office

immediately? 3 terms not allowed.

[OhioTim]

8. Trump Admits He Lost

[Mr.Bee]

9. and doctoring the 2026 and 2028 voter rolls

so trump can remain ruler.
Thank You Turncoat Tulsi !

[MaineBlueBear]

10. Automatic grounds for the defense

to claim vindictive prosecution for whatever charges arise from this bit of theater.

I wonder if it is somehow linked to the sealed whistleblower case against DNI Tusli Gabbarf.

[maxrandb]

11. "Unusual Call"???? Really NYTs???? "Unusual"????

That's the word you came up with? "Unusual"????

"Scott Peterson had an 'unusual' Christmas fishing routine"

"Jeffrey Dahmer had an 'unusual' Sreak Tartar recipe".

"John Wayne Gacy had an 'unusual' kid's Birthday Clown Act"

"Mengele had an 'unusual' way of conducting medical research"

"Putin has an 'unusual' way of conducting real estate transactions"

JFC - it's been over a fucking decade, and the New York Times and the rest of the media still don't fucking know HOW TO CALL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY "CRIMINAL ACTIVITY"!

[Javaman]

12. They are going to fabricate 12K of votes

then use that as a battering ram to claim that the election in 2020 was stolen.

THEN

they will announce that they are going to redo election "policy" to rig the 2026 election...10 months from now.

[NoMoreRepugs]

13. Winner winner chicken dinner! My thoughts eggsactly.

[blue_jay]

14. Sounds like someone is creating an alibi/ just following orders nt

[tinymontgomery]

16. When the Democratic Party

When the Democratic Party gets back in power they need to go after these FBI agents also.

[Kid Berwyn]

21. Now is a good time to start.

Sen. Schumer?
Leader Jeffries?

Gotta Red Handed case of election fraud here.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. MaddowBlog-Trump reportedly thanked FBI agents directly after raid of Georgia elections office

A Justice Department leader rejected claims that the president was involved in the Fulton County raid. There’s new evidence pointing in the opposite direction.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-reportedly-thanked-fbi-agents-directly-after-raid-of-georgia-elections-office

There’s fresh evidence pointing in the opposite direction. The New York Times reported on some behind-the-scenes details on what transpired when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard personally met with FBI agents after they executed a search warrant near Atlanta.

What occurred during the meeting was even further outside the bounds of normal law enforcement procedure. Ms. Gabbard used her cellphone to call Mr. Trump, who did not initially pick up but called back shortly after, [according to three people with knowledge of the meeting].

The president addressed the agents on speakerphone, asking them questions as well as praising and thanking them for their work on the inquiry, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion.

According to the Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, the call was “fairly short” and was similar to “a pep rally or a coach giving an encouraging halftime speech to his players.”.....

There’s no credible reason for federal law enforcement to seize these election materials, which have already been thoroughly scrutinized, just as there’s no reason for the FBI to act as a vehicle for the president’s discredited conspiracy theories. The fact that Gabbard, eager to work her way back into the White House’s good graces, personally participated in the raid in Georgia, added a scandalous element to a burgeoning controversy.

An NBC News report explained, “Accompanying FBI agents on a raid is unprecedented for the chief of U.S. intelligence, whose job is to track threats from foreign adversaries. In her role overseeing the country’s spy agencies, Gabbard is prohibited by law from taking part in domestic law enforcement.”

But if the Times’ reporting is correct, Trump’s attaboy phone call with the agents on hand in Fulton County removed all doubt about the brazenness of the gambit.

“Even for a president who has radically transformed the Justice Department and the F.B.I. by trampling over their political independence and using them as tools for personal retribution, Mr. Trump appears to be taking that kind of involvement to a new level,” the Times added. “Rather than going to senior department or F.B.I. officials, Mr. Trump spoke directly to the frontline agents doing the granular work of a politically sensitive investigation in which he has a large personal stake.”

So much for “I don’t believe he was involved.”

[mdbl]

18. Why isn't the state of GA suing the Dump administration

I guess they don't want to protect their own citizens.

[thought crime]

19. Looks like Tulsi Gabbard is the new Rudy Giuliano

Is she stupid? (rhetorical question). Better make sure you're on the "pardon list".

[ShazzieB]

20. I'm just going to leave this here.

.

[Figarosmom]

22. I wonder if this is the same crew

That went through Utah's voter roles looking for undocumented voters. They found 1 that was registered but didn't vote.

Yet trump is still saying that millions of undocumented people are voting.

They won't find anything in Georgia either unless they make it up.