Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs urged Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate election interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential race.
Hobbs, a Democrat running for governor, insisted the 45th president and others engaged in behaviors that “involve clear efforts to induce supervisors to refuse to comply with their duties,” as she referenced at least one alleged felony violation in a letter to the state’s top prosecutor. Hobbs cited repeated phone calls from the White House in early January directed at Clint Hickman, a Republican and top Maricopa County supervisor, and voicemails from Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward.
“As you said just last week, ‘Fair elections are the cornerstone of our republic, and they start with rational laws that protect both the right to vote and the accuracy of the results,’” Hobbs wrote, according to the Arizona Republic. “Arizona law protects election officials from those who would seek to interfere with their sacred duties to ascertain and certify the will of the voters.”
The news outlet recently obtained multiple text messages and voicemails that Trump wanted to chat with Hickman, who said he ignored the White House at the time. Hickman described the barrage of messages as “horrifying” after it was revealed Trump attempted to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” a number that would grant him a victory in the state awarded to President Joe Biden.
That call is now under scrutiny as part of a criminal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election in Fulton County.
via joemiller