The Grand Jury Subpoena and the Arizona Senate’s Response
A grand jury subpoena issued earlier this month has led to the Arizona Senate providing the U.S. Department of Justice with a vast amount of data, including images of ballots, as part of a partisan review of the 2020 election. This move highlights the extensive records sought by federal investigators during their criminal investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona sent the request to Senate President Warren Petersen on March 5, just over two weeks after former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the state. During her visit, she promoted election fraud claims while advocating for Republican voting legislation that could disenfranchise millions of Americans.
The subpoena, which was sent from the FBI Phoenix Field Office’s Fraud Investigations unit, requested a wide range of documents related to the “audit” conducted by the Arizona Senate. These documents include:
- Reports produced by the Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based firm hired to conduct the “audit,” summarizing the forensic findings
- Any original electronic media devices in the possession of the Arizona State Senate provided by Maricopa County, including external hard drives, thumb drives, USB drives, memory cards, SD cards, PCMIA cards, compact flash, CD/DVD, with accompanying chain of custody documentation
- Any other electronic media provided to the Cyber Ninjas or its subcontractors or clones of the Maricopa County Election Department’s elections equipment software and data, with accompanying chain of custody documentation
- Any documentation on forensic tools used, forensic software versions used, forensic procedures used, and all documentation related to the imaging, cloning, extraction, and analysis of the Maricopa County Elections Department electronic systems
- Any official records depicting communications between the Arizona Senate and public officials from Maricopa County, to include members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, and the Maricopa County Elections Department
The Audit and Its Findings
The “audit,” conducted by Donald Trump allies with no background or knowledge of election administration, found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. In fact, it concluded that Joe Biden defeated Trump by more votes than the official tally found.
Among the documents provided to the Mirror is a receipt for property detailing what the Arizona Senate handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. These items include:
- Multiple 6-terabyte hard drives with “forensic images,” likely of ballots, all of which were photographed during the election review
- Backup servers that include video footage from the “audit” itself
- Eight USB drives
- “Misc documents”
It is not certain what all is stored on the drives, though most of the drives given over to the FBI are attributed to CyFir, one of the subcontractors that the Cyber Ninjas hired.
The Impact of the Audit
CyFir’s CEO, Ben Cotton, had to walk back bombastic claims made during the election review, and at one point took the data from the “audit” to a “lab” in Montana. This further underscores the questionable nature of the audit and the lack of credibility behind some of the claims made.
Trump and his allies have long made Arizona a key priority, especially after his 2020 loss. The president has called to “nationalize” elections while rumors have circulated of possible executive action fueled by election conspiracy theories.
The Grand Canyon State has been at the forefront of those conspiracy theories and efforts since 2020, despite no evidence to substantiate those claims ever coming forward. The “audit” conducted by the Cyber Ninjas included many falsehoods, some of which have persisted till this day such as the claim of 74,000 phantom voters which has been thoroughly debunked.
Ongoing Conspiracies and Public Perception
Despite the lack of evidence, conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election continue to persist. Many election deniers still cling to these theories even after the Arizona debacle. Some media outlets have criticized Trump for his failed attempts to spin the results of the “audit.”
There have also been questions about whether the Cyber Ninjas botched another 2020 presidential recount attempt. The company has even debunked a “false version” of their report, stating that the Arizona election should not be decertified.
As the legal and political battles continue, the focus remains on the integrity of the electoral process and the need for transparency and accountability in all aspects of election administration.
