Arizona official withheld records denying vote fraud
Former state attorney general ignored his investigators’ findings, documents show.
PHOENIX — Arizona’s former attorney general suppressed findings by his investigators who concluded there was no basis for allegations that the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud, according to documents released Wednesday by his successor.
Democratic Atty. Gen. Kris Mayes, who took office last month, said the records show the 2020 election “was conducted fairly and accurately by election officials.”
Previous Atty. Gen. Mark Brnovich, a Republican, never released a March 2022 summary of investigative findings, which ruled out most of the fraud claims spread by allies and supporters of former President Trump. Yet a month later, he released an “interim report” that claimed his investigation “revealed serious vulnerabilities that must be addressed and raises questions about the 2020 election in Arizona.”
He released his April report despite objections from his investigators, who said some of its claims were refuted by their inquiry. Brnovich was at the time in the midst of a Republican primary for U.S. Senate and facing fierce criticism from Trump, who claimed he wasn’t doing enough to prosecute election fraud.
Brnovich, whose primary bid was unsuccessful, also did not release a September memo that systematically rejected a bevy of election conspiracy theories that have taken root on the right, including allegations of dead or duplicate voters, premarked ballots f lown in from Asia, election servers connected to the internet and manipulation by satellites controlled by the Italian military.
“In each instance and in each matter, the aforementioned parties did not provide any evidence to support their allegations,” the memo read. “The information that was provided was speculative in many instances and when investigated by our agents and support staff, was found to be inaccurate.”
The memo, which was among the documents released Wednesday, describes an all-encompassing inquiry that became the top priority for the attorney general’s investigators, who spent more than 10,000 hours looking into 638 complaints. They opened 430 investigations and referred 22 cases for prosecution. President Biden won Arizona by a little more than 10,000 votes.
Mayes said the fraud claims were a waste.
“The ten thousand plus hours spent diligently investigating every conspiracy theory under the sun distracted this office from its core mission of protecting the people of Arizona from real crime and fraud,” Mayes said in a statement.
Attempts to reach Brnovich for comment were unsuccessful.
Thursday’s release is the latest confirmation that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Trump continues to repeat his lie that the election was stolen from him as he mounts his third bid for the White House.