Former Georgia prosecutor denies ‘black suitcase’ voting fraud at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena

BJay Pak, the former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia who refused to certify former President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud, on Monday told the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee that there was no evidence of fraud in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

 Pak did not detail for the panel the terms of his departure from office, but did describe the federal investigation into possible fraudulent ballots at State Farm Arena, an Atlanta basketball arena and a voting site in the 2020 election.

Pak initiated the investigation at the request of then-Attorney General Bill Barr, who asked Pak in December 2020 if he had seen a video Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer and adviser to Trump, referenced in a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing that showed a black suitcase full of ballots at the arena.

The video showed a secure ballot box being returned to the arena on election night after a mix-up about whether election workers were finished for the night.

“We found that the suitcase full of ballots, the alleged black suitcase that was being seen pulled from under the table, was actually an official lockbox where ballots were kept safe,” Pak told the panel Monday

The FBI “determined that nothing irregular happened in the county and the allegations made by Mr. Giuliani were false,” Pak said.

Pak resigned abruptly on Jan. 3, 2021. A U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee report found last year that Trump forced Pak out because the prosecutor would not aid the president’s attempt to overturn Georgia’s election results.

California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren led questioning of Pak. She did not inquire about his departure.

 Trump’s interference with the U.S. Department of Justice is the subject of the panel’s next hearing, on Wednesday.

Pak said Monday he was not aware of any election fraud claims his successor, Bobby Christine, substantiated.