A Federal Grand Jury in Arizona, has Subpoenaed Records from a Review that Republican Lawmakers Conducted of the 2020 Presidential Results and that Confirmed Trump (R) Lost.
The Subpoena Opened a New Front in the Trump Administration’s Expanding Hunt for Evidence that has never Surfaced to Support Trump’s Claims of Widespread Fraud. The Law Enforcement steps have Alarmed election Officials and Democrats, who Fear that the Administration is Building an Argument for Interfering in 2026 Midterm Elections.
Arizona’s state Senate President, Warren Petersen (R-12th District), said Monday, that He had Received and Complied with the Aubpoena Llate lLst Week. “The FBI has the records,” He Said. A Federal Official with Knowledge of the Subpoena Confirmed that the FBI obtained the Records. The Official asked to Remain Anonymous to Discuss a Law Enforcement Action that had Not been made Public.
In 2021, the Republican-led State Senate Commissioned a Review of nearly 2.1 million Ballots in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The Effort was funded by Trump Supporters, conducted by a Firm with No Election Experience, and Run by an Executive who Supported Trump’s Unsubstantiated Fraud Claims. Nevertheless, the self-styled audit reaffirmed that Joe Biden won the race, with “no substantial differences” from the officially certified Count.
Because of that Review, the State Senate Retained Election Records that Ordinarily would have been Disposed of by Now, according to a former Staff Member familiar with the Matter. The Person said those Records include Images of Ballots and Absentee Envelopes, the Tally of Cast Votes, and the Server Software.
The FBI’s Pursuit of RareSsurviving 2020 Election Records Resembles its Search last month, of a Warehouse storing Ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, which Trump also Lost in 2020. The FBI received a Warrant to Seize those Records based on previously Debunked Claims, Unsealed Court Documents Show.
The Documents said that the Georgia Investigation Originated with Kurt Olsen, a Lawyer Advising Trump on Election Issues in the White House. Olsen has also Wworked in Arizona and Subscribed to Allegations of Vulnerabilities in the State’s Electronic Voting Systems. The White House Referred Questions to the FBI. Trump Cheered a Report from a Right-Wing Website about the Subpoena. “Great!!!” He Wrote on Truth Social.
The Two Agencies that Share Responsibilities for Elections in Maricopa County, the Board of Supervisors and the Recorder, both said they have Not been Subpoenaed. Election Officials and Experts have expressed Alarm at the Trump Administration’s Efforts to Re-Examine an Election that has been Repeatedly Scrutinized, and the Subject of Dozens of Lawsuits, Courts, and Independent Reviews, found No Widespread Voter Fraud in 2020 in Arizona, Georgia, or Other Swing States.
“I think this is very deliberate,” said Lawrence Norden, Vice-President of Elections at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. “I think it’s part of a concerted campaign on the part of the White House to undermine confidence in elections, to challenge results that they don’t like in 2026.”
Richard Hasen, a Law Professor at UCLA and Director of the School’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, said the Administration’s Efforts could be intended to Placate a President who Refuses to Accept His 2020 Loss. But, He Said, He Fears that “these could be test runs for what the federal government might try to do to interfere with the tabulation of ballots in 2026.”
“The fact that these actions appear to be accelerating and appear to be driven in part by election deniers who are now part of the Trump administration should cause anyone who cares about free and fair elections to be gravely concerned,” Hasen said. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) Decried the Investigation, and said in a Statement that Petersen was using His Position “to legitimize conspiracy theories that Arizona’s own courts and law enforcement have thoroughly debunked.”
“What the Trump administration appears to be pursuing now is not a legitimate law enforcement inquiry,” Mayes said. “It is the weaponization of federal law enforcement in service of crackpots and lies.”
Voters and Election Officials are Tired of the Endless Review of an Election that was found to have been Conducted Properly, said Tammy Patrick, the Chief Executive for Programs at the National Association of Election Officials.
“In this moment, who benefits from our democracy being undermined and discredited?” She said. “It is not the American electorate. It’s not the American voter. And it’s not free and fair elections.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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