Media

Arizona newspaper takes state Senate, Cyber Ninjas to court for audit info

by Dominick Mastrangelo 07/01/21 02:14 PM CDT

Arizona’s leading newspaper is suing the state Senate and a digital contractor in a bid to obtain information about the GOP-backed audit of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County.

The Arizona Republic reported Thursday it has “filed a special action in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking financial records and communications about the audit from the [Arizona] Senate and Cyber Ninjas,” the company carrying out the audit.

Arizona Republicans, former President Trump and his allies have alleged that fraud took place in the state’s largest county, but the nature of the audit, who is conducting the work and who is paying for it have remained largely secret.

The Republic earlier this year requested the same information through the Arizona Public Records Law but was denied, triggering the lawsuit filed this week.

“Arizona law entitles the public to know how this audit is being conducted and funded,” David Bodney, a lawyer representing the newspaper, said Wednesday. “And the Arizona public records law does not permit the Senate to play ‘hide the ball’ by delegating core responsibilities to a third party like Cyber Ninjas and concealing records of government activities and public expenditures in Cyber Ninjas’ files.”

Bodney separately questioned why elected officials in the state Senate would not also want to see financial statements and documents regarding an audit that has lasted for weeks.

“The Senate asserts that it is not even required to ask Cyber Ninjas to share copies of its Arizona audit records with them, much less disclose them to the public,” he said. “And Cyber Ninjas won’t produce copies of these public records, either. Their conduct leaves us no choice but to call upon the court to enforce the public records law.”

Greg Burton, the Republic’s executive editor, said the outlet has an obligation to take every means necessary to shed as much light on the audit as possible in order for residents of the county and the state to be able to most accurately consider the veracity of its eventual findings.

“Despite promises by Senate leaders that its vote audit would be transparent, the operations of the recount have been carried out largely in secret by hired, not elected, parties performing the functions of elected officials,” Burton said in a court declaration, the newspaper reported. “The lack of information makes it difficult to discern the quality of this recount. It will make it impossible to weigh the credibility of the work once results are announced. Information from participants, particularly Cyber Ninjas, is essential to help the public understand, let alone challenge, the process.”