Not surprised at all:
A report issued Wednesday by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich found no evidence of widespread voter fraud or irregularities associated with the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County while raising concerns about some voting procedures.
The interim report, six months into an investigation, was detailed in a 12-page letter to Senate President Karen Fann. Brnovich, a Republican, said his office “has left no stone unturned in the aftermath of the 2020 election.”
Former President Donald Trump is pursuing a persistent pressure campaign to uncover any illegal activity that would support his false claims that he defeated President Joe Biden in Arizona 17 months ago.
Trump lost Arizona by less than 10,500 votes, and a GOP-commissioned review in Maricopa County confirmed Biden’s victory.
And of course his fellow Arizona Republicans aren’t happy with him:
While Brnovich said his investigators believe they discovered “serious vulnerabilities,” the letter conspicuously does not mention any widespread voter fraud that could have altered the outcome of the 2020 election — a claim that has been the focus of President Donald Trump and many Republicans in Arizona.
And although Brnovich alluded to criminal “instances of election fraud” that are being prosecuted — like the Republican woman in Scottsdale who cast a ballot for her dead mother — he noted several times that his office had struggled at times in its investigation because it does not have subpoena power in civil cases like the one being explored against county elections officials.
That didn’t sit well with state Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Flagstaff Republican and ardent Trump supporter who has repeatedly called for the 2020 election to be overturned.
“Our nation burns and people write damn letters that don’t do a damn thing! Fix it now!” Rogers said in a flurry of posts on the encrypted messaging app Telegram. “There is something else we can use to deter crime but I would get censured again if I said it.”
Jim Lamon, a wealthy businessman who was a fake Trump elector and helped fund the Senate’s so-called “audit,” also lashed out at Brnovich.
“(Bronvich’s) Election Integrity report is a ‘Nothing Burger’ despite having the Maricopa (County) audit findings on his desk for 6 mos,” Lamon, who is also running for U.S. Senate, wrote on Twitter.
Brnovich has been the target of Trump’s ire since shortly after the 2020 election, when the AG told Fox Business that there was no fraud in the Arizona election. When Brnovich entered the field for U.S. Senate, Trump took aim at Brnovich, calling him “lackluster” for failing to declare the election “stolen.”
“Arizona was a big part and Brnovich must put himself in gear, or no Arizona Republican will vote for him in the upcoming elections. They will never forget, and neither will the great Patriots of our Nation!” Trump said at the time.
Trump has continued his pressure on Brnovich, chastising him in written statements and asking him to “do something.”
By the way, before he decided to run for the U.S. Senate, Brnovich was singing a different tune:
Shortly after the 2020 presidential election Attorney General Mark Brnovich appeared on Fox Business, where he was asked about unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in Arizona.
He said at the time, “if indeed there was some great conspiracy” to steal votes from fellow Republicans, “it apparently didn’t work.”
True.
He added, “In Arizona, there was a prediction that the (Republican-controlled) Legislature would flip. It didn’t. There were some congressional districts that supposedly leaned Democrat. They didn’t flip. The county recorder here who oversees elections went from Democrat to Republican. The county attorney remained Republican.”
Also true.
Brnovich continued, “That’s the reality. There is no evidence, there are no facts that would lead anyone to believe that the election results will change.”
True as well.
We’ll see if his primary frontrunner status holds up by the August 2nd primary.
Meanwhile, on Team Blue:
Democracy and Health are on the ballot next year and we need to get ready to keep Arizona Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D. AZ) and his fellow Arizona Democrats campaigns: