According to a New York Times report citing three people familiar with the matter, President Donald Trump spoke with certain FBI agents a day after federal agents executed a search at an election office in Fulton County, Georgia. The office, located outside Atlanta, had been the subject of that FBI action as part of an investigation tied to allegations of voting fraud advanced by the president after the 2020 election.
The New York Times account, as described by the three sources, says the president addressed the agents on speakerphone. During the exchange he asked questions and offered praise and thanks for their work on the inquiry.
The article also reports that the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, met with some of the same agents from the FBI field office in Atlanta the day after the search. During that meeting, Ms. Gabbard placed a call to the president from her cellphone, the report says, and the president spoke to the agents via speakerphone.
The search of the Fulton County facility was carried out in connection with allegations that the 2020 presidential result was affected by widespread voting fraud. Those claims have been rejected by courts, state governments and members of the president’s former administration, according to the reporting.
Critics have denounced the Georgia investigation as politically motivated. They contend that the Justice Department requires an unusual degree of independence because it is charged with administering justice without partisanship.
The report frames the raid as the latest instance in which the Trump administration has been accused of using the Justice Department against individuals the president perceives as opponents, or of intervening in cases where he believes he has been treated unfairly.
Responding to the reporting, White House spokesman Davis Ingle issued a statement saying, "DNI Gabbard and FBI Director (Kash) Patel are working together to implement the president’s election integrity priorities, and their work continues to serve him and the entire country well."
The FBI declined to comment on the report. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Context and reporting limits
The details in this account follow the New York Times report and its three named sources. The agencies referenced in the reporting did not provide public comment to the media at the time of publication.