DOJ special counsel subpoenas Arizona lawmakers in probe
Legislative leaders in Arizona have received subpoenas from the special counsel investigating interference with the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential election.
House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Glendale, and Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, confirmed receipt of the subpoenas and offered some detail late Friday about the demand from U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The subpoenas were first reported by the Arizona Mirror.
“It’s mostly just a request for any communications between us and a list of people,” Petersen told The Arizona Republic. “I only recognized one person on the list: Rudy Giuliani.”
He said he would cooperate with the investigation.
“Of course I will comply. Why wouldn’t I?” Petersen said.
Toma, who was out of state and was advised of the subpoena by the attorney for the House of Representatives, said the federal investigators want his cellphone and are arranging an interview in Phoenix mid-March. He said he will fully comply.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for exactly yet,” he said, adding there was a request for some keywords. He did not elaborate.
The Arizona Mirror also reported that state Sen. Sonny Borelli, R-Lake Havasu City, and former state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita were also issued subpoenas. Neither returned requests for comment Friday evening.
Borrelli is a staunch Trump advocate and currently Senate majority leader. Ugenti-Rita led the Senate committee that handled election matters in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, but stepped down in September 2021.
The Mirror reported it had obtained a copy of the subpoena on the condition that it not be published. The news outlet reported that the subpoena demanded documents provided to the Jan. 6 Commission and to “any other state or federal inquiry related to the 2020 presidential election.” It also sought communications with former President Donald Trump or with his campaign.
Last December, Maricopa County officials received similar subpoenas and vowed to comply. Former Vice President Mike Pence received a subpoena from the special counsel earlier this month, though he has said he will fight it.
Leaders unsure why they received subpoenas
Toma said he isn’t certain why he received a subpoena, although as the No. 2 leader in the House of Representatives in 2021, he was involved in conversations about what actions, if any, the Legislature could take regarding the results of the presidential election.
His position was that the Legislature could do nothing retroactively, Toma added.
Some House members, most notably former Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, argued the Legislature had the power to replace the presidential electors chosen by the voters with those of the Legislature’s choosing. Those efforts did not succeed.
Petersen speculated that the subpoena request might stem from a meeting with Giuliani in the Senate majority room to discuss his concerns about the election. Giuliani was acting as Trump’s attorney at the time. All Republican senators were invited, Petersen said.
“I think those that attended got a subpoena,” Petersen said. “Not certain.”
Asked about the subpoenas sent to the legislative leaders, former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers on Friday evening said he was advised to not comment on the matter.
Bowers, a Mesa Republican, resisted demands from Trump and his allies to have the Legislature overturn the results of the 2020 election. Bowers demanded Giuliani provide proof to back up his claim that the Legislature could change the the slate of electors. He has said it never arrived.
Karen Fann, who was Senate president when Giuliani met with lawmakers, said she has heard nothing from federal officials since they demanded records last June from her and state Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, about efforts to interfere in the election results.
Fann said she supplied those records and has not had further contact.