Arizona AG’s election interference probe heats with subpoenas of MAGA lawmakers

05 April 2024

Although Democrats have been struggling in Florida, they have gained a lot of ground in Arizona, Georgia and Virginia — all of which were once deep red but have evolved into full-fledged swing states. Arizona was once synonymous with the conservatism of Sen. Barry Goldwater and his successor, Sen. John McCain; now, it has a Democratic governor (Katie Hobbs), two non-GOP U.S. senators (Democrat Mark Kelly and ex-Democrat turned independent Kyrsten Sinema), and a Democratic state attorney general — who has been leading a thorough criminal investigation of MAGA efforts to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results.

One of 2020's political bombshells came when now-President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in Arizona. Although Trump falsely claimed that he won the state, meticulous recounts thoroughly debunked that claim.

According to Politico, Democratic Arizona AG Kris Mayes has subpoenaed two far-right MAGA congressmen who were major promoters of the Big Lie: Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar.

Politico reporters Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney note that although "there is no indication that" Mayes "is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker," the subpoenas "show that Mayes…. has cast a far wider net in her probe than previously understood."

"Mayes appears to be nearing a decision on whether to ask the grand jury to issue indictments in the case," Swan and Cheney report in an article published on April 4. "If she does, she will become the fourth state or local prosecutor to bring criminal charges over the efforts by Trump and his allies to submit fake electors in states that Joe Biden won."

The Politico journalists add, "In recent weeks, Mayes' office has sent out a wave of grand jury subpoenas. She also has required Arizona Republicans who falsely claimed to be the state's presidential electors to assert their Fifth Amendment rights in front of the grand jury — an unusual step that has generated criticism from some former prosecutors."

Swan and Cheney note that Arizona "was one of seven states won by Biden where Trump's allies organized slates of so-called alternate electors."

"Prosecutors in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada have brought criminal charges against false electors in those states, and special counsel Jack Smith has called the scheme a central element of Trump's bid to subvert the election," according to the Politico reporters. "Subpoenas to members of Congress in criminal investigations are rare, in part because lawmakers enjoy robust constitutional protections from criminal proceedings connected to their official business."

Swan and Cheney add, "But Biggs and Gosar are not the first lawmakers to face scrutiny from criminal investigators probing Trump's efforts to fight the 2020 election results. In 2022, the FBI seized the phone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) as part of the Justice Department's election-subversion probe."

Legal journalist Luke Johnson, in response to the subpoenas, notes the connection between them and far-right MAGA conspiracy theorist Ali Alexander Akbar.

On X, formerly Twitter, Johnson posted, "More to the Story: Ali Alexander Akbar BRAGGED that Paul Gosar & Andy Biggs were his partners on the #StopTheSteal rallies that led to the #Jan6 violent riots. They all must be held accountable, they've laughed it off for years."

The Daily Beast notes that in 2022, the January 6 Select Committee "found that both Biggs and Gosar attended a White House meeting with Trump on December 21, 2020, to strategize on ways that then-Vice President Mike Pence could block the certification of the election results."

Read Politico's full report at this link.

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