American Oversight Statement on Arizona Election Interference Indictments

Today, nonpartisan public records watchdog American Oversight released the following statement on the recent indictments in Arizona of the state’s fake electors and several others involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 election results, including Christina Bobb, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows.

Statement from Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight interim Executive Director:

“The Arizona Attorney General’s indictments are a vital step in holding accountable those who sought to interfere in the foundations of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power and the right to vote. 

“American Oversight’s investigations have revealed the extent to which the election denial movement has evolved since the failed electors plot, and how several of those indicted — including the RNC’s top ‘election integrity’ lawyer — remained integral to efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election long after Jan. 6. As we approach another presidential election, our democracy will depend on ensuring that these and other individuals who’ve sought to overturn our free and fair elections are forced to answer for their dangerous and anti-democratic actions.”

American Oversight first obtained and published the fake electoral certificates from seven states in 2021. The organization’s investigations of the election denial movement and post-2020 efforts to undermine confidence in U.S. elections revealed important details about the involvement of several of the Arizona defendants and unindicted co-conspirators, including Christina Bobb, who was recently named the Republican National Committee’s senior counsel for “election integrity.”

• American Oversight’s litigation and investigation of the Arizona Senate’s partisan “audit” of Maricopa County’s election results uncovered records showing Bobb had provided Senate President Karen Fann with supposed evidence of voter fraud in December 2020 at the request of Rudy Giuliani. 
• Bobb frequently communicated with Arizona “audit” leaders, and in August 2021 asked to share Fann’s contact information with attorney Michael Gableman, who at the time was conducting the Wisconsin Assembly’s bogus election investigation.

Several of those indicted in Arizona were indicted in Georgia’s election interference case, including Giuliani, Eastman, Mark Meadows, Jenna Ellis, and Michael Roman. A guide to public records obtained by American Oversight that shed light on the election denial activities of the Georgia defendants and the unindicted co-conspirators in the Justice Department’s election case is available here.

• • In addition to information about Giuliani’s early influence in the effort to dig up supposed evidence of fraud in Arizona, American Oversight’s “audit” investigation also uncovered documents showing that Fann appeared to have spoken with pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman in December 2020 about his theory that the Constitution allowed state legislatures to interfere with the selection of presidential electors.
  • Email records previously reported on by Rolling Stone show that lawyer Jenna Ellis was included on a message about a post-election proposal to eliminate some ballots from the vote totals.
  • Former Trump campaign aide Mike Roman was also heavily involved in the Arizona “audit,” both operationally and as a fundraiser.
  • Other records include references to Mark Meadows’ visit to Cobb County, Ga., to observe a ballot audit, as well as an email to Meadows from Trump-allied lawyer Cleta Mitchell about the Trump campaign’s post-election plans in Georgia.

Additionally, American Oversight has uncovered documents related to the election denial activities of the Arizona case’s unindicted co-conspirators, including former state Sen. Kelly Townsend, former state Rep. Mark Finchem, and attorney Jack Wilenchik.