The Arizona Republican Senate sure wanted to see all of the documents related to the 2020 election, going so far as to threaten Maricopa County Commissioners with arrest if they did not turn over the records for another “forensic audit.” After a County Superior Court Judge ruled that the Senate was indeed entitled to the ballots and related election materials, they were turned over in a scene out of a Keystone Kops movie, as trucks packed with 73 pallets of ballots pulled up to the unsuspecting Senators’ building—“unsuspecting” because they didn’t actually think the 2.1 million ballots would be delivered to them, when in fact that’s what their lawsuit demanded.
So, on the fly they found a big space, conducted their audit with inexperienced people using unproven methods, and after months of voter data escaping to Montana, ballots moved elsewhere because the space was reserved for other events, Jan. 6 insurrectionists hired to count ballots then fired because it didn’t look good, election experts telling us the Ninja knuckleheads didn’t know WTF they were doing, and no press allowed except for OAN, which was doing on-air fundraising for the boondoggle—after months of this clown show, the upshot was that Biden won Maricopa County by even more votes. Oh, and no fraud.
Since the beginning of this clusterfuck reporters have asked: Why exactly was Cyber Ninjas, a firm that had zero experience conducting election audits, hired to oversee the Maricopa County recount, especially after two previous recounts conducted by experienced officials showed the vote was accurate? No matter, the Senate wanted to do its own recount, but Senate President Karen Fann has never explained why other firms that bid on the project, firms that did have relevant experience, didn’t even receive a phone call.
Why? Why? Why?
Maybe, just maybe, a clue might be found in the documents that Cyber Ninjas and the Arizona GOP Senate refuse to turn over, even after the courts have ordered them to do just that. The GOP argues that the records are not “public,” because the Senate hired a private firm to conduct the recount, an argument no Arizona court has affirmed. As a result, months ago Cyber Ninjas was fined $50,000 per day for withholding documents that media outlets have sought. So far Doug Logan, the CEO of the now bankrupt and shut-down Cyber Ninjas, is on the hook for more than $4 million. Logan is getting legal help from the Arizona Senate:
Senate Republicans hired Phoenix-based law firm Statecraft to represent it on matters related to the so-called “audit” of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, including lawsuits centered on public records. The Senate has refused to release thousands of documents to watchdog organizations and journalists…
So far Arizona taxpayers have shelled out more than $500,000 to Statecraft’s lawyers to help Cyber Ninjas and the GOP Senate keep public records from the public. Arizona Republicans sure were keen on getting every document related to the 2020 election, but when their circus didn’t prove the “election was stolen” (although most Arizona Republicans running for any office still say it was), they sure weren’t too anxious to turn over their records. Why? They wanted our ballots, now we’d like to see the files that explain what they did with a most sacred right—our vote.
I’m just speculating but given the Republican-led “decertification network” in Arizona, including the fake electors scheme, Gosar and Biggs’ Jan. 6 activities (full story to come), Trump’s Phoenix rally in support of the audit, and GOP Chair Kelli Ward’s conspiratorial dumbfuckery, it’s likely the audit was part of a communication network of Stop-the-Steal plotters that extended beyond Phoenix—so yeah, those records could be revealing. That’s perhaps one reason the Jan. 6 Committee asked Cyber Ninja CEO Doug Logan to testify, sending a very long, detailed letter that clearly showed the Committee is connecting dots. Logan refused again—no records, no testimony.
Republicans argued early on that the audit was necessary in order to “inspire confidence” in the election process. They originally appropriated $150,000 for the audit, a figure that ballooned to at least $9 million, and now they’re spending even more to keep their records from the public. Yep, their lying, secrecy, and mismanagement—all of which only confirmed Biden’s win—sure inspires confidence.