Government expected to unseal affidavit filed in support of Fulton County election raid
Ballots arrive at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center on election night on November 5, 2024 in Fairburn, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Federal authorities are expected to unseal the affidavit they filed in support of their search of a Fulton County, Georgia, election office last month, after a federal judge ordered the document be unsealed by the end of the day Tuesday.
FBI agents on Jan. 28 seized 700 boxes containing ballots and other materials associated with the 2020 election from the county’s Elections Hub and Operations Center after obtaining a search warrant. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims that there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia, that contributed to his election loss.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a Trump nominee, on Sunday ordered the government to unseal the affidavit that was filed in support of the search warrant, subject to “the redaction of the names of non-governmental witnesses.”
In his ruling, Boulee noted that the government did not oppose the unsealing of the affidavit, which could provide more information on the search and the investigation that lead to it.
The ruling came after Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts filed a motion seeking the unsealing of the affidavit, as well as the return of the election documents that were seized.
Pitts said in a statement he was “pleased” with the judge’s ruling.
“Fulton County will continue to pursue every legal option to seek the return of election records and to defend our elections from possible takeover,” Pitts said. “Even in the midst of this unprecedented legal action, we will not allow our staff to be deterred or distracted from preparations for the 2026 election, which will be once again free, fair, transparent and legally compliant.”
While the judge on Sunday ordered the release of the affidavit that was the basis for the search warrant, the warrant itself authorized the FBI to search for “All physical ballots from the 2020 General Election” in addition to tabulator tapes from voting machines and 2020 voter rolls, according to a copy of the warrant that was obtained by ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB following the raid.
The warrant said the material “constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense.”
The warrant listed possible violations of two statutes — one which requires election records to be retained for a certain amount of time, and another which outlines criminal penalties for people, including election officials, who intimidate voters or to knowingly procure false votes or false voter registrations.
Travelers wait in line to go through security in Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 27, 2026 in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Despite high prices for gas and airfare, a record-breaking 45 million Americans are expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA.
Whether you are hitting the road or taking to the skies, here’s what you need to know:
By plane
About 3.66 million people are expected to fly over Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA.
The top U.S. destinations are Orlando, Florida; Seattle; New York City; Las Vegas; Miami; and San Francisco, according to AAA. The top international cities are Rome; Vancouver, Canada; Paris and London.
American Airlines said its busiest travel day of the holiday weekend is expected to be Friday, May 22. American also said it’s predicting its busiest summer ever, with Friday, July 17, set to be the airline’s most popular day to fly.
By car
The majority of people are expected to drive to their Memorial Day destination, with AAA predicting 39.1 million will travel by car.
If you are heading out the door on Friday, May 22, the best time to be on the road is before 11 a.m., because traffic will be heaviest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to analytics company INRIX.
When you are ready to hit the road to go home on Monday, May 25, INRIX recommends leaving before 10 a.m., with the worst traffic forecast from noon to 5 p.m.
Although millions are driving to their Memorial Day vacation, filling up the tank will be costly as the war in Iran sends gas prices surging. As of May 10, the national average for gas was above $4.50 per gallon, according to data from AAA and Gas Buddy. Last year on Memorial Day, the national average for a gallon of gas was $3.17, according to AAA. This year marks the highest gas prices since the summer of 2022, AAA said.
Christine Banfield is seen in an undated photo. Obtained by ABC News
(FAIRFAX, Va.) — Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães, who went along with former IRS agent Brendan Banfield in a northern Virginia double murder plot, was sentenced to to 10 years in prison with two years of probation.
On Friday morning, Fairfax County Judge Penney Azcarate decided to give the 25-year-old the maximum sentence, which was up to 10 years on a manslaughter charge for which she pleaded guilty in 2024.
“Your actions were deliberate, self-serving, and demonstrated a profound disregard for human life,” Azcarate said in delivering her ruling. “So, let’s get straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and this family.”
A new “20/20” episode about the case, “The Au Pair, The Affair and Murder” is scheduled to air Friday, Feb. 20, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
Magalhães and Banfield were separately arrested over their roles in the Feb. 24, 2023, murders of Joseph Ryan and Banfield’s wife, Christine Banfield, which were committed inside the Banfield home.
Early in the investigation, detectives discovered evidence suggesting that Banfield and Magalhães were having an affair — and that they had plotted to kill his 37-year-old wife.
Part of that plot, according to prosecutors and Magalhães’ testimony, involved covertly creating a profile for, and thus masquerading as, Christine on a social media site for sexual fetishes.
Ryan, 39, took the bait in what prosecutors called the “catfishing” scheme. Ryan communicated back and forth with the profile account that was allegedly posing as Christine, as they together crafted a rape fantasy scenario using a knife, chains and rope.
“I have caused pain that cannot be measured. I pray for forgiveness from the Benson family, and from the Joseph Ryan family,” Magalhães said during Friday’s sentencing hearing.
“There is nothing I could possibly do to make it up to you, for your loss. There are so many regrets, this is my biggest. It’s a tragedy I have been carrying with me, and I know I can never take back the devastation of what I have done,” she added.
Saying she lost herself in the relationship with Banfield, she has changed in jail over the past three years.
At the time, Magalhães and Banfield told police they came home to find Ryan — a stranger to them — stabbing Christine Banfield to death. Banfield and Magalhães each fired a shot, killing Ryan, they said both in their 911 call and to responding officers at the scene.
In October 2023, Magalhães was charged with the second-degree murder of Ryan, as she had admitted to firing the second, fatal shot.
One year later, Magalhães took a plea deal with prosecutors, turning on Banfield in exchange for a lesser charge of manslaughter. Prosecutors also promised to recommend to the judge upon sentencing that Magalhães only get time served.
With that agreement, Magalhães sat for nearly four hours of interviews with prosecutors, largely confirming the theory detectives had developed about their scheme.
Magalhães also took the stand in the trial against Banfield in January, as he maintained his innocence. During his three-week-long trial, Banfield even took the stand, testifying in his own defense.
After two days — nearly nine hours total — of deliberations in the trial, the jury reached a verdict on Feb. 2. The jury found Banfield guilty on all four counts, which included two counts of aggravated murder, one count of child endangerment, and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.
Family and friends of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan filled the courtroom Friday morning for Magalhães’ sentencing.
Joining remotely online from Florida, Ryan’s mother, Deirdre Fisher, delivered her victim impact statement. She said her son was born two days before Christmas, making it a special holiday for them. Since Ryan’s murder, she has not been able to take down her Christmas tree, which sits behind the urn holding her son’s ashes.
“I say good morning to him each day when I turn on the tree’s lights, and I tell him I love him each night when I turn off the lights,” Fisher told the court.
Fisher said she has missed so many milestones now, including the chance to be a grandmother. There have been many times, Fisher said, when she’s reached for the phone to call her son, only to remember that he can’t and won’t answer.
Ryan’s aunt, Sangeeta Ryan, delivered her impact statement from the courtroom, pausing periodically between sobs.
“He was fun-loving and loved from the beginning. He was inquisitive, curious, smart, charming, and so dang talkative,” she said.
Ryan’s aunt described her nephew’s love for animals and the environment, noting that he often rescued and adopted dogs.
Sangeeta Ryan, added that he also was a dedicated member of their family, especially in taking care of his grandmother, who, she said, sold her home in wake of Ryan’s murder to “dodge memories, grief, and reporters.”
Acknowledging that Magalhães did eventually come forward with the truth, Sangeeta Ryan said that this still was not an act of heroism on Magalhães’ part.
“This could have been a very different ending where Juliana saved two lives,” she said could have been the case if Magalhães had not gone along with Banfield’s plot.
As Magalhães was charged only in Ryan’s murder, Judge Azcarate ruled that prosecutors could not include victim impact statements that Christine Banfield’s family members had prepared.
The death penalty was abolished in Virginia in 2021, meaning that, following his conviction, Banfield is facing life in prison without parole.
Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice overnight restored a photo purportedly showing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick visiting the private island of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to its trove of publicly released documents.
On Thursday, a Department of Justice official acknowledged the photo was taken down as part of a “batch of files that were flagged for nudity” following the recent release of Epstein files.
The image itself did not contain nudity, and the restored version of the photo did not contain any new redactions.
“The batch of thousands of images was pulled for review and is being uploaded with necessary redactions on a rolling basis. No files are being deleted,” the official said.
Some photos on the Department of Justice’s website are batched together into a single document, and the DOJ has said they are pulling documents on a rolling basis to make necessary redactions, such as for nudity or personally identifiable information.
The previously removed photo appears to show Epstein, Lutnick — dressed in a blue shirt and white shorts — and three other individuals near the southwest corner of Little Saint James, the private island owned by Epstein in the United States Virgin Islands.
The Commerce Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Justice appears to have withdrawn the image from its public archive of Epstein documents sometime earlier this month, according to a saved version on the nonprofit site Wayback Machine. The removal prompted criticism from lawmakers including Representatives Ted Lieu, Thomas Massie, and Jimmy Gomez.
“Dear @AGPamBondi: Why are you covering up this picture of Epstein’s friend Lutnick?” Lieu wrote on X. “And are you really so stupid you think deleting a picture after you’ve posted it on the internet will make it go away?”
Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee earlier this month. Lutnick acknowledged that he visited Epstein’s island with his family during a vacation, though he initially claimed he distanced himself from Epstein in 2005.
Emails released by the Department of Justice earlier this month showed Lutnick’s wife coordinating with Epstein’s assistant to visit the island for lunch in December 2012.
“I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,” Lutnick told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, who broke from his party to push for the release of the Epstein files, called on the Department of Justice on Thursday to explain why the image was removed.
“I’m sure there’s a good reason for this. DOJ needs to tell Congress who pulled this file down so we can ask them,” Massie wrote on X.
