A report issued by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Wednesday found no evidence of widespread voter fraud or irregularities associated with the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County, while raising concerns about some voting procedures.
The interim report, six months into an ongoing investigation, was detailed in a 12-page letter to Senate President Karen Fann, with Brnovich saying his office “has left no stone unturned in the aftermath of the 2020 election.”
The Republican attorney general’s findings come amid a persistent pressure campaign by former President Donald Trump to uncover any illegal activity that would support his false claims that he defeated President Joe Biden in Arizona two years ago.
Trump lost Arizona by less than 10,500 votes, and a GOP-commissioned review in Maricopa County confirmed Biden’s victory.
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The former president repeated his Arizona claims as recently as January, when he alleged mass fraud during a rally where he was flanked by three House Republicans — Reps. Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs and Debbie Lesko — who voted against certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“It’s far more than necessary to win the state of Arizona,” Trump said at the rally, where he referenced Brnovich.
“I think he’s a good man. I think he’s going to do his job,” Trump said.
Brnovich had initially defended the integrity of election results — much to the disappointment of GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Kari Lake.
“There is no evidence, there are no facts that would lead anyone to believe that the election results will change,” Brnovich said days after the 2020 election was called for Biden.
Earlier this week, Lake called for the decertification of Biden’s victories in Arizona and Wisconsin.
Brnovich’s tenor toward the 2020 election began to shift amid pressure from Trump and a host of Arizona Republicans. He is running for the GOP nomination for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Mark Kelly.
Although Wednesday’s report did not find mass fraud or conspiracy in the 2020 election, it outlined his office’s concerns with “serious vulnerabilities” involving certain procedures during the campaign, including the signature verification process and the transportation of ballots from drop-box locations.
GOP state Sen. Wendy Rogers blasted Brnovich minutes after the release of his letter. In a tweet, she said: “I don’t like letters. I like arrests and prosecutions. Criminals don’t respect legal gobbly-gook that just fills pages when really we can use handcuffs, jail cells and jump suits.”
Fann did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Brnovich’s letter.
Stephen Richer, who was elected Maricopa County Recorder in 2020, also rebuked the report on Twitter, accusing Brnovich of “working overtime” to undermine confidence in elections by ignoring many findings that could instill confidence.
“I remember spending many, many hours working with investigators on our entire tech stack. Looking at questions like internet connectivity and data deletion. I guess the answers to those don’t fit the narrative,” Richer wrote.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
