Last Updated on August 26, 2021
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich released a statement on Thursday that confirmed the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) violated state law by refusing to comply with an election audit-related Senate subpoena for routers and network logs, and ordered MCBOS to either comply and hand over the subpoenaed materials or face the withholding of state funds.
“Our office just notified the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors that it is in violation of state law for failing to comply with AZ Senate’s subpoena,’ Brnovich stated on Thursday. “The County has 30 days to change course or lose state-shared funds. The rule of law must be followed.”
Brnovich dropped the HAMMER! https://t.co/zQU7c0w6Ag
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) August 26, 2021
In a statement released on the same day, the Attorney General’s Office released a statement that further expanded on the nature of the illegal activities conducted by the MCBOS:
Today’s decision stems from a “SB 1487” complaint filed by Senator Sonny Borrelli under A.R.S. § 41-194.01, which authorizes any legislator to request the Attorney General investigate a county or city alleged to be in violation of state law. On July 26, 2021, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann and Senator Warren Petersen (Senators) issued a subpoena to MCBOS related to the Senate’s audit of the 2020 election. The Senators requested six categories of items for production by August 2, 2021, including routers and network logs.
MCBOS objected to the requested information, and to date, has not provided all of the subpoenaed materials. Moreover, in its response to the AGO, MCBOS failed to explain why it is not required to comply with the legislative subpoena. Its only response was that the Arizona Senate is not currently in session, so MCBOS could not be held in contempt.
The statement noted that “If MCBOS fails to resolve the violation within 30 days, the AGO, in accordance with state law, will notify the Arizona Treasurer to withhold state revenue from Maricopa County until MCBOS complies,” and concluded by stating “At this time, the AGO has not received any official report related to the Senate’s audit, but stands ready to review the official findings and any information submitted after a final report is completed by the Senate.”
As National File reported on August 3, State Sen. Sonny Borrelli (R) filed the 1487 request asking Brnovich to open an investigation into MCBOS for refusing to comply with the lawful subpoena.
“I support Attorney General Brnovich’s decision,” State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R) wrote on Thursday. “The Maricopa Board of Supervisors should have complied months ago instead of dragging this out unnecessarily. Now Maricopa county will suffer from a loss of tens of millions of dollars if their county supervisors don’t comply.” Rogers added, “Their level of obstruction has been unprecedented. It further demonstrates what I have been saying all along – what do they have to hide?”
Their level of obstruction has been unprecedented. It further demonstrates what I have been saying all along – what do they have to hide? (2/2)
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) August 26, 2021
Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem also celebrated the decision, stating “I am pleased to see that the Arizona Attorney General has reinforced the rule of law and is compelling a lawless political subdivision to do what it promised to do on December 14, 2020. In fact, I am of the opinion that the entire cost of the audit should be billed back to the county for the delays and legal hoops that the Senate has had to g through just to do its job.”
should be billed back to the county for the delays and legal hoops that the Senate has had to g through just to do its job.” (2/2)https://t.co/lsdTpmSigR
— Mark Finchem for AZ Secretary of State (@RealMarkFinchem) August 26, 2021
The audit report for Maricopa County is set to be released within the next few days.
