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Krishnamoorthi confronts Kash Patel over FBI election review
Lawmaker seeks legal basis for assigning hundreds of analysts to the Georgia investigation.
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Ankita Baidya - Fri, 03, Jul 2026
- 03:29 EDT
- 26
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has called for an explanation of the FBI's expanded Georgia election investigation. / IANS
Raja Krishnamoorthi, representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district, has criticized the FBI's decision to assign hundreds of intelligence analysts to its investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, calling on FBI Director Kash Patel to explain the legal basis and scope of the operation.
In a post on X, the Indian American congressman said the FBI exists "to protect the American people and uphold the rule of law, not to serve as a taxpayer-funded opposition research firm for the President's political grievances."
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Krishnamoorthi said diverting hundreds of FBI personnel to revisit what he described as "conspiracy theories" surrounding the 2020 election represented "a profound misuse of the Bureau's resources for partisan purposes." He called on Patel to explain to Congress and the public the legal basis for the investigation, the resources being devoted to it, and what public safety priorities may be affected.
"The American people should be deeply concerned that the Trump Administration appears to be using law enforcement to justify greater federal control over our elections," he wrote.
The FBI exists to protect the American people and uphold the rule of law, not to serve as a taxpayer-funded opposition research firm for the President's political grievances. Diverting hundreds of FBI personnel to relitigate conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, despite…
— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) July 2, 2026
Krishnamoorthi's comments followed reports by CBS News and MS Now that Patel had directed FBI field offices nationwide to send intelligence analysts to Atlanta to support what the bureau has designated a "priority" investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County.
According to the reports, the FBI's Directorate of Intelligence instructed larger field offices to provide eight analysts each and smaller offices between three and five, for a total deployment of about 260 analysts. Each analyst has been tasked with completing 708 records checks by July 17, with overtime, including weekends and holidays, authorized to meet the deadline.
The investigation follows the FBI's January seizure of more than 600 boxes of election materials from Fulton County, including physical ballots, ballot images, voter rolls and vote-tabulating machine tapes. The inquiry was referred to the FBI by attorney Kurt Olsen, who previously challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election. A federal judge denied Fulton County's request to have the seized records returned in May.
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