Biden Administration Provides Legal Backing for Georgia Prosecutors’ Trump Election Probe

By Solange Reyner | February 25, 2026

Newly released documents indicate prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia received assistance from the Biden administration in their investigation of Donald Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The assistance extended beyond a decision not to assert executive privilege and included involvement by the January 6 House Select Committee.

In a September 2022 letter to Fulton County prosecutors, then-White House special counsel Richard Sauber informed then-Deputy District Attorney John Wakeford that then-President Joe Biden would not invoke executive privilege to block testimony from former Trump White House officials before the Georgia special purpose grand jury.

The grand jury was convened as part of District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Sauber wrote in the letter: “These events threatened not only the safety of Congress and others present at the Capitol, but also the principles of democracy enshrined in our history and our Constitution,” referring to the events surrounding January 6, 2021.

“In light of these unique circumstances, President Biden has determined, as he did with respect to the Congressional investigation of these events, that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the public interest with respect to efforts to thwart the orderly transition of power under our Constitution,” Sauber added.

The documents indicate the White House’s involvement went beyond the privilege determination. However, the extent and specifics of this assistance were not detailed in the materials. The documents were obtained after a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit public interest law firm America First Legal under the Georgia Open Records Act. Willis’ office initially sought to withhold records citing legal privilege but later dropped all claims and released the documents in full without redactions.

The production provided more material than Willis’ office had previously turned over to Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. Executive privilege is a legal doctrine allowing presidents to withhold certain communications from disclosure, particularly those involving internal executive branch deliberations. While typically asserted by the sitting president, disputes can arise when a current president declines to uphold a former president’s claim.

In this instance, Biden declined to assert privilege over testimony from former Trump officials in connection with a state-level criminal investigation. This decision cleared the way for those officials to provide testimony before the Georgia grand jury without a White House-backed privilege barrier. The coordination occurred as Willis’ office pursued evidence related to Trump and his allies’ efforts to contest Georgia’s 2020 election results.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and characterized various investigations into his conduct as politically motivated. The White House previously argued that declining to assert executive privilege in matters related to January 6 and the post-election period was consistent with its position that transparency served the public interest. Willis’ office also spoke with the Jan. 6 committee’s chief investigative counsel, Tim Heaphy, who stated: “As we discussed yesterday, we’re willing to provide an oral summary of what certain witnesses have told the committee in interviews and depositions.” Heaphy added that a team from Fulton County met with committee staff in Washington.

A legal representative from America First Legal noted: “These documents reveal that the Biden Administration and the January 6 Committee were much more involved in District Attorney Fani Willis’s prosecution of President Trump than was previously believed.”

A Georgia judge dismissed an election interference case against Trump and his allies last year. Willis announced a sprawling indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023, alleging a conspiracy to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Biden using the state’s anti-racketeering law. Defense attorneys sought Willis’ removal after it was revealed in January 2024 that she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, her special prosecutor. The defense alleged a conflict of interest and claimed Willis profited from the case when Wade used his earnings for vacations.