Maricopa County Election Officials To Present Point-By-Point Rebuttal To GQP Sham ‘Fraudit’ Today

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The Associated Press reports, Election officials to rebut claims in Arizona ballot review:

Election officials in Arizona plan Wednesday to present a point-by-point rebuttal of a partisan review of the 2020 election that former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters have used to promote the myth that Trump lost because of fraud.

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Election administrators and the mostly Republican leaders of Maricopa County have always maintained that the review, conducted by Trump supporters on behalf of state Senate Republicans, was flawed. They’re scheduled to offer their most detailed response in a public meeting of the county Board of Supervisors.

The Senate’s closely watched ballot review ended in September without producing proof to support Trump’s claims of a stolen election. A firm hired by Republican lawmakers issued a report that experts described as riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology.

It was all just a grift of Trump cult members by QAnon conspiracy theorists. Shake down the rubes and relieve them of their money.

The review began with a sweeping subpoena issued by Senate Republican leaders in late 2020 as Trump and his allies searched in vain for evidence to support his claim the election was stolen. The subpoena demanded access to all 2.1 million ballots, the machines that counted them and troves of digital election data from Maricopa County, home to the Phoenix metro area and 60% of Arizona voters.

To lead the review, Republican lawmakers hired Cyber Ninjas, a small cybersecurity consultancy with no experience in elections and led by a Trump supporter who shared conspiracy theories about the election on a Twitter account that he later deleted.

And this guy.

The Cyber Ninjas report confirmed Biden’s narrow victory in Maricopa County but claimed a number of shortcomings in election procedures and suggested the final tally still could not be relied upon. Trump has repeatedly pointed to those claims in his rallies and public statements.

These grifters are also stiffing their lawyers. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy. Cyber Ninjas’ Arizona Election Probe Lawyer Asks to Quit, Alleges He Isn’t Being Paid:

The attorney representing Cyber Ninjas, the cyber-security company that conducted the widely criticized audit of 2020 election data from Maricopa County, Arizona, is asking the judges in multiple lawsuits to allow him to quit, alleging the company hasn’t paid him.

Jack Wilenchik has requested withdrawal from cases brought against Cyber Ninjas by American Oversight, a government watchdog group, and The Arizona Republic newspaper over records of how the audit was conducted that the prosecution in both cases say should be public.

In the request to the judge overseeing The Arizona Republic case, Wilenchik alleged he hadn’t been paid by the company, while he cited “professional considerations” in his request in the American Oversight case.

Attorneys for American Oversight said in a Monday court filing that if the judge allows him to quit, the conclusion of the case and potential public release of the records would be delayed, stopping the public from learning how and why the audit was commissioned by state Senate Republicans, and how Cyber Ninjas conducted it.

“In sum, the jig is up, and Cyber Ninjas’ longstanding effort to avoid disclosure of public records relating to the audit would seem to be finally coming to an end,” American Oversight attorney Keith Beauchamp wrote. “But Wilenchik’s eleventh-hour maneuver to avoid production could thwart this Court’s orders because, of course, Cyber Ninjas cannot appear except through counsel.”

The filing from American Oversight also said he has not given the court any reason to allow such delay and has continued his “pugnacious approach” to defending his client in the face of repeated losses and court orders to hand over the records.

Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan has been called to give a deposition to American Oversight’s lawyers on Wednesday, January 5.

* * *

Cyber Ninjas has argued for months that it is not subject to the public records law because it is a private company. Two different judges and the Arizona Court of Appeals have ruled that records Cyber Ninjas possesses that have a “substantial nexus” to the audit are public and must be released. They held that the “audit” done for Senate Republicans after former President Donald Trump lost in Arizona to President Joe Bidenwas a core government function and that makes the records public.

Cyber Ninjas is asking the state Supreme Court to overrule the Court of Appeals decision, and Wilenchik has not withdrawn from that case. The high court has declined to put the lower court orders on hold and could consider the appeal next month. In the meantime, Cyber Ninjas still has not provided the records to the Senate so it can release them.

Wilenchik told a judge last month that Cyber Ninjas has no money and can’t afford to pay for the review or redaction of records.

“Who’s paying for that?” Wilenchik said to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah. “Because the plaintiff is not, the Senate is not, and this company is insolvent.”

Cyber Ninjas has released some documents but maintains it is doing so voluntarily. Among them is a financial statement suggesting the ballot review cost nearly $9 million. Cyber Ninjas received $5.7 million from political groups led by Trump allies who have aggressively promoted the former president’s false claims that the election was stolen from him, along with $1 million paid by donors directly to subcontractors. Altogether, Cyber Ninjas reported a net loss of more than $2 million from the audit.

The audit, released in September, found that Biden got 360 more votes in Maricopa County than initially reported out of 2.1 million ballots cast. It produced no proof to support Trump’s false claims of a stolen election, and experts described it as riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology.

This is just the latest legal troubles for these asshats. Back in October, GOP Arizona Senate President Says Cyber Ninjas in Breach of Contract Following Audit:

Karen Fann, the Republican leader of the Arizona state Senate, has said that Cyber Ninjas, the private company commissioned to conduct an audit of Maricopa County’s election results, is now in “breach of contract” with the state for not providing audit-related documentation.

In an October 26 letter to Cyber Ninjas and CEO Doug Logan, Fann said that she had previously sent Logan a September 14 letter. In that letter, Fann told the company to submit all its audit-related records to her in order to comply with a court order. Cyber Ninjas only provided 300 records, “an insubstantial percentage of all existing responsive records,” Fann wrote.

“Accordingly, Cyber Ninjas’ inadequate response to my September 14 request places it in material breach of the (contract) as construed by the court,” her letter continued. “The Senate reserves its rights to pursue any and every applicable claim or reemit to enforce the agreement’s provisions.”

The problem you have, Krazy Karen, is that you knowingly hired unqualified QAnon conspiracy theorists for your Arizona Senate GQP sham “Fraudit.” You got exactly what you wanted from these asshats. Their withholding documents is likely what you want them to do, since the Arizona Senate GQP also tried to prevent the production of documents in court as well. You are all guilty of perpetrating a fraud on the citizens of Arizona, whom you are going to stick with the bill for the cost of this sham “Fraudit” and the related attorneys fees and expenses. It should be the Arizona Republican Party and each of the 16 Arizona GQP senators who authorized this sham “Fraudit” who are held personally liable for the cost of this sham “Fraudit” and the related attorneys fees and expenses.





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