AZ AG Defends Sketchy Audit, Tells AG Garland He’s ‘Not Amused’ By DOJ ‘Posturing’

PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 01: Contractors working for Cyber Ninjas, who was hired by the Arizona State Senate, examine and recount ballots from the 2020 general election at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 1, 2021 in Phoeni... PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 01: Contractors working for Cyber Ninjas, who was hired by the Arizona State Senate, examine and recount ballots from the 2020 general election at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 1, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Maricopa County ballot recount comes after two election audits found no evidence of widespread fraud. (Photo by Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) told the U.S. Justice Department Monday that that DOJ was “supporting the hysterical outcries of leftist pundits on cable television” when it sent a letter last month inquiring about the state’s partisan recount of the 2020 election.

The May 5 letter, sent by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, raised examples of where the so-called audit may be running afoul of federal law. On Friday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland referenced the letter in a speech that promised the federal agency would scrutinize post-elections audits to “ensure they abide by federal statutory requirements to protect election records and avoid the intimidation of voters.”

Brnovich, in his Monday letter addressed to Garland, said the U.S. Attorney General’s comments were “troubling.” He accused Garland of displaying “disdain” for state sovereignty.

“My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing and will not tolerate any effort to undermine or interfere with our State Senate’s audit to reassure Arizonians of the accuracy of the elections,” Brnovich wrote. “We stand ready to defend federalism and state sovereignty against any partisan attacks or federal overreach.”

Brnovich’s swipes at Garland escalate the tensions between state and federal governments as the Biden administration ramps up its efforts to protect voting rights. When Arizona’s Senate President Karen Fann (R), who is spearheading the audit, responded to the DOJ’s May 5 letter previously, her tone was far less combative than Brnovich’s, who announced a U.S. Senate run last week.

Read the Brnovich letter below:

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Notable Replies

  1. “My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing”

    Dude, they weren’t telling jokes. You weren’t supposed to be amused, but keep it up because I assure you the rest of us will laugh our asses off when you’re carted off in cuffs.

  2. We’ll see your state sovereignty and raise you one principles of Democracy.

    I’d fold now, if I were you.

  3. Full faith and credit of USA vs. the right-wing-nut-job wing of the Arizona GOP? I’ll take those odds. The AZ AG must be getting too much adrenochrome.

  4. A-Z isn’t going to release the results of the audit until late summer? Why the hold up? It couldn’t do this last November.

    Really wonder what was going on then with Fox News, Kushner and AZ being called for Biden.

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