Former president Donald Trump said Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey should sent the state police or National Guard to monitor the state Senate-led audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 presidential election results.
Arizona Republicans are “exposing the large scale voter fraud” that took place during the election, Trump said through his Save America PAC this weekend, but Democrats are trying to stop them.
“The Republican Party is demanding that Governor Ducey of Arizona immediately provide large-scale security for the brave American Patriots doing the Forensic Audit of the 2020 Presidential Election,” Trump said.
“Governor Ducey will be held fully responsible for the safety of those involved,” he added. “… The Democrats do not want to have this information revealed, and they will do anything to stop it. Governor Ducey must finally act!”
Last week, Arizona Democrats filed a last-minute lawsuit to try to stop the state Senate’s audit from taking place, but they refused to pay a $1 million bond set by a judge on Friday that would have enacted a temporary pause in the audit over the weekend.
Shortly thereafter, the judge who was overseeing the legal challenge recused himself from the planned hearing, allowing the audit to move forward.
The audit includes a recount of the 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, as well as a forensic audit of the voting machines. It is being conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a cybersecurity firm from Florida.
Trump has criticized Ducey repeatedly for certifying President Joe Biden’s disputed win in the state after Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs actively resisted efforts to investigate the many fraud allegations.
“Why is he [Ducey] rushing to put a Democrat in office?” Trump asked in November. “Especially when so many horrible things concerning voter fraud are being revealed at the hearing going on right now.”
The Arizona GOP voted to censure Ducey in January, along with former Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain—two of the most prominent “Republicans” in the state, both of whom publicly supported Biden.
