Georgia investigators: No fraud in two high-profile election cases

State officials have formally dismissed two high-profile claims of election fraud stemming from the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Investigators found no wrongdoing in a complaint against two Fulton County election workers whose lives were upended when then-President Donald Trump falsely accused them of fraud. In a separate complaint, they also found no evidence of “pristine ballots” that fueled suspicions of election fraud.

The conclusions in the final investigation reports echo what the Georgia secretary of state’s office has been saying for 2 1/2 years — that it found no evidence to support allegations of rampant fraud in these and other cases. But the State Election Board formally dismissed both complaints Tuesday, bringing to a close investigations of some of Trump’s most sensational claims.

The first case involved allegations of election fraud against Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, the mother and daughter captured in an infamous video from State Farm Arena on election night. Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani played portions of the video to Georgia lawmakers in December 2020, claiming it was “smoking gun” evidence of election fraud.

It wasn’t. Investigators from the FBI, the GBI and the secretary of state’s office interviewed election workers and reviewed hours of video. They determined the video showed normal ballot counting.

What’s more, the FBI interviewed the person who created a fake Instagram account that appeared to contain a post by Freeman admitting she conspired to influence the election results. The creator of the account confirmed the content was fake.

“All allegations made against Freeman and Moss were unsubstantiated and found to have no merit,” the investigation report concluded.

Freeman and Moss endured death threats and other harassment because of the false claims. They have filed defamation lawsuits against people and organizations that spread the allegations and have already recovered a settlement from One America News Network. Lawsuits are still pending against Giuliani and the Gateway Pundit, a conservative website.

“This serves as further evidence that Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss — while doing their patriotic duty and serving their community — were simply collateral damage in a coordinated effort to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election,” one of their attorneys, Von DuBose, said of the investigation report. “Lies about Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss have been proven false over and over again, and those who perpetuate them should be held accountable.”

The other investigation stemmed from numerous allegations made by poll watchers and others in Fulton County.

Some said they were not able to adequately view the tabulation process or were told to leave before counting was done on election night. Some said election workers secretly stored “suitcases” of ballots underneath a table and counted them after observers and the media left. Two observers said they spotted “pristine” absentee ballots that appeared to be marked by a machine, rather than a person.

Investigators found no evidence to substantiate any of the allegations. The “suitcases” were standard ballot containers stored earlier in the day for counting later. No one told the observers to leave — they left on their own when they believed work was done for the evening.

Investigators also could find no pristine ballots — even when directed to specific batches of ballots by one of the people who said she spotted them. The conclusion echoes a report by the secretary of state’s office in an ongoing lawsuit that seeks to allow election skeptics to inspect the original 147,000 absentee ballots cast in Fulton County during the 2020 election.