Special Counsel Jack Smith Subpoenas Arizona Secretary Of State’s Office In Jan. 6 Probe

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Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the office of Arizona’s secretary of state in his probe into efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election result, according to multiple news reports.

Smith’s demand for information came “as recently as May,” The Arizona Republic reported on Wednesday.

Paul Smith-Leonard, a spokesperson for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, said Smith sought information about two separate lawsuits: one filed by former President Donald Trump’s campaign, and the other by the then-Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward.

The Trump campaign’s lawsuit, which claimed some voters had their ballots thrown out because they voted twice, was dismissed, with the judge finding there were not enough questioned votes to alter the election outcome.

Ward’s complaint alleging that poll workers in Maricopa County weren’t qualified to verify signatures on mail-in ballots was also tossed.

Ward, who was subpoenaed in the House Jan. 6 committee’s investigation, and her husband also were involved in the fake electors scheme in Arizona.

Smith was looking for documents related to “discovery, proposed exhibits” and communications between opposing legal teams in those two lawsuits, the Arizona Republic said.

Smith-Leonard said the law firm representing his office complied with Smith’s request.

DOJ investigators don’t appear to have contacted former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey so far. Last week, The Washington Post reported that former President Donald Trump called Ducey in late 2020, pressuring him to undo Trump’s defeat in his state.

The Post also said Trump tried to recruit Vice President Mike Pence to coerce Ducey. Pence told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday he spoke with the then-governor, but claimed there was “no pressure involved.”

Arizona, a key battleground state in 2020, narrowly voted for Joe Biden with a margin of fewer than 10,500 votes. Ducey certified the result on Nov. 30, 2020.

Smith has already subpoenaed other Republican lawmakers in the state.

Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers told CNN Wednesday he was interviewed by the FBI. He said the investigators’ questions made him think the probe was wide-ranging, although he said he offered “nothing new.”

Trump has been indicted in the classified documents probe overseen by Smith on Espionage Act charges stemming from his removal of classified documents from the White House after leaving the office.

The former president is also the subject of a probe in Georgia over the efforts to overturn the election result in that state.



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