By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Senate’s leader referred two state officials to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be investigated for obstruction.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) announced the referral on Tuesday. Petersen, who is also running for attorney general, accused Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness concerning the federal probe into Arizona election records.
“The threats of the Attorney General and Secretary of State are incompatible with United States Constitution, which enshrines the grand jury in our constitutional order, and only serve to hinder voters’ confidence in our elections,” stated Petersen in his letter to the DOJ.
The referral emerged in response to Mayes and Fontes requesting information from the state senate concerning its compliance with a recent federal grand jury subpoena of 2020 election records.
In response to Petersen’s referral, Fontes accused the senate president of jeopardizing voters’ safety and security.
“My main concern for ensuring privacy of personal information in voter registration data, as required by law, remains,” said Fontes.
Last month, the two Democratic officials issued a joint letter ordering county recorders not to comply with the federal subpoena. Contrary to what Petersen claimed in Tuesday’s letter, Mayes and Fontes argued compliance with the federal subpoena would violate both federal and state law.
“It is the states’ authority and responsibility to hold elections — not the federal government,” stated the pair’s letter. “Without direct congressional action, the United States Constitution does not authorize or allow the federal government to insert itself into a state’s election procedures, much less authorize the DOJ to unilaterally build a national voter database.”
Mayes called the subpoena “a weaponization of federal law enforcement in service of crackpots and lies,” and Petersen “an unrepentant election denier” spreading conspiracy theories and false stories of election fraud.
Petersen said the pair’s request from the state senate suggested their intention to interfere with the federal investigation.
Petersen based his referral on a legal analysis from the law firm Snell & Wilmer, which he said defended the state senate’s compliance with the federal subpoena and posited that the request by Mayes and Fontes constituted obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
In Petersen’s letter to Arizona District Attorney Timothy Courchaine, the state senate president accused Mayes and Fontes of ulterior motives linked to election meddling.
“Instead of fighting over these issues, we should all be working together to ensure the election integrity necessary to realize our country’s democratic promise,” said Petersen. “The Attorney General and Secretary’s phobia of fair and secure elections is impossible to explain absent nefarious motives.”
Mayes’ reelection campaign manager, Delaney Corcoran, said in a response that Petersen’s referral was a means to “seek retribution against his political enemies.”
Mayes made a similar claim when news of the federal subpoena emerged last month.
“One of the Republicans hoping to challenge me this fall is reigniting his SHAM ‘Cyber Ninja’ 2020 election audit conspiracies to the disservice of Arizonans,” said Mayes. “It’s a disgusting politicization of government and a waste of time and [money].”
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