Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen has confirmed that he has complied with a federal grand jury subpoena, handing over records from the controversial 2021 audit of Maricopa County's 2020 election results. This move marks a significant expansion of the Trump administration's efforts to relitigate the 2020 election, following a similarFBI raid in Fulton County, Georgia, in late January.
While the Republican-led Arizona audit, famously conducted by the firm Cyber Ninjas, was marred by partisan bias and unconventional methods, such as searching for 'bamboo fibres,' its final report actually affirmed Joe Biden's victory, even finding 360 additional votes for him.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has condemned the latest federal inquiry as a 'weaponisation of law enforcement' intended to validate debunked conspiracy theories.
The FBI has received documents from Petersen, who handed them over late last week. Petersen shared the news on social media, stating that the 'FBI now holds the records.'
'Late last week, I received and complied with a federal grand jury subpoena for records relating to the Arizona State Senate's 2020 audit of Maricopa County. The FBI has the records. Any other report is fake news,'Petersen posted on X.
President Trump is 100% correct.Late last week I received and complied with a federal grand jury subpoena for records relating to the Arizona State Senate’s 2020 audit of Maricopa County. The FBI has the records. Any other report is fake [email protected]/C2T202VgZP
This is the second time this year the FBI has seized election records from a key battleground county. Earlier, in January, theFBI took ballots and other materials from Fulton County, Georgia, after the Justice Department obtained asearch warrant. The warrant was based on claims from years ago, many of which had been thoroughly investigated and dismissed as false.
The move comes as Arizona's Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, condemned the FBI's actions. She pointed out that multiple audits, independent investigations, and court challenges found no evidence of widespread election fraud that could have altered the outcome.
She criticised the FBI and the broader effort, saying it appears to be the weaponisation of law enforcement to pursue false claims.
'Warren Petersen knows all of this. He has known it for years. He spreadfalse stories of election fraud in 2020, and he remains an unrepentant election denier,' Mayes said,reported by AP News.
Source: International Business Times UK
