Category: The West

Arizona Senate President Warns State Could Take Control of Maricopa Election After Audit Red Flags

Georgia Star News Staff

Following the release of explosive findings by an independent forensic audit of the 2020 election in Arizona’s Maricopa County, the state may step in to assume direct control of election administration there before the next election, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann hinted Friday.

The long-awaited results of an outside audit of the county’s 2020 election process were announced Sept. 24. While confirming the rough accuracy of county vote tabulation giving Joe Biden a razor-thin victory in Arizona, the auditors flagged more than 50,000 suspect ballots for further investigation of issues ranging from people voting from addresses from which they had already moved to residents voting twice.

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Brnovich Demands Maricopa County Freeze All Materials Related to 2020 Election

Rachel Alexander

In response to the report released last week about the Maricopa County ballot audit, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Election Integrity Unit sent a letter to Maricopa County instructing the recorder and supervisors to preserve all records related to the 2020 election in preparation for litigation. He also sent a letter to the Arizona Senate requesting more information related to the audit. 

“The Arizona Senate’s report that was released on Friday raises some serious questions regarding the 2020 election,” Brnovich said in a statement about the letters. “Arizonans can be assured our office will conduct a thorough review of the information we receive.”

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Maricopa County Audit Results Reveal Someone Was Caught on Video Illegally Deleting Hundreds of Thousands of Election Files the Day Before the Audit Started

Rachel Alexander

Arizona Senate Republicans issued the results of the independent ballot audit they conducted of the 2020 presidential and U.S. Senate election in Maricopa County on September 24 during a presentation, revealing findings that numerous election laws were broken and security measures breached. 

The most startling finding came from Ben Cotton, the founder of CyFIR. He said hundreds of thousands of election files — which the Maricopa County Supervisors refused to allow the auditors to examine — were deleted the day before the audit began, a violation of federal law which requires federal election records to be retained for 22 months. Although the name of the account that deleted them was not tied to a specific election worker, Cotton said there is video of the person who accessed those servers at that time. 

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Arizona Attorney General Signals Readiness to Investigate Election Irregularities Uncovered Audit

Georgia Star News Staff
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich declared Friday he would take “all necessary actions” to investigate any irregularities uncovered by a state Senate-order audit of the November 2020 election in his state.

His comments on Twitter came as leaked copies of the draft audit flagged tens of thousands of ballots cast in the last election as suspect and requiring more investigation.

The drafts recommended the Republican attorney general take the lead investigating many of the issues, including a possible canvas of voters flagged as having problems.

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White House Ignores Governors’ Request for Meeting with Biden on Border Crisis

Peter D'Abrosca

After Gov. Doug Ducey (R), along with 25 other governors, sent a letter to the Biden Administration urgently requesting a meeting with President Joe Biden regarding the border crisis, the White House appears to be ignoring the governors’ plea. 

“As chief executives of our states, we request a meeting with you at The White House to bring an end to the national security crisis created by eight months of unenforced borders,” that letter said. “The months-long surge in illegal crossings has instigated an international humanitarian crisis, spurred a spike in international criminal activity, and opened the floodgates to human traffickers and drug smugglers endangering public health and safety in our states. A crisis that began at our southern border now extends beyond to every state and requires immediate action before the situation worsens.”

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‘The Numbers Are Skewed’: Colorado Officials Warn of Inflated COVID Death Statistics

Georgia Star News Staff

Multiple public officials in Colorado are warning that the state’s official COVID-19 death count is skewed due to the practice of conflating patients who have died directly due to the disease with those who have merely tested positive for it prior to death.

Data experts and health officials have long struggled to separate out those two key data points in government tallies of COVID deaths, leading to accusations that the death rate for the disease is being inflated modestly or even significantly.

Multiple public officials in Colorado, meanwhile, told “Full Measure” host Sharyl Attkisson that they had personally observed death tallies that erred on the side of COVID, leading to death counts that were effectively misleading to the public.

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Arizona Attorney General Says Tucson Vaccine Mandate Violates State Law

Peter D'Abrosca

A law mandating the COVID-19 vaccine among Tucson city employees is illegal, according to Arizona’s Attorney General. 

“Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that his office (AGO) determined the City of Tucson’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public employees does violate state law for purposes of S.B. 1487, and also is in direct conflict with the Governor’s Executive Order 2021-18,” a press release from Brnovich’s office said.

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Coalition Files Lawsuit Against Two Arizona Voting Laws, Claiming Voter Suppression

The Center Square

A coalition of groups filed a lawsuit against two voting laws passed in the last session, arguing that the statutes could disenfranchise thousands of voters. 

Mi Familia Vota, Arizona Coalition for Change, Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), and Chispa Arizona alleged in the lawsuit filed on Aug. 17 that the bills “violate the right of all Arizonans to vote.”

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Exclusive: Erik Prince Blames Afghanistan Debacle on ‘Cosplay National Security Apparatus’ that Believes ‘Their Own BS’

Neil W. McCabe

The Founder of the Blackwater private security firm and the author of a comprehensive plan to save Afghanistan by shifting the country’s security to private contractors and away from the American military told the Star News Network he warned U.S. diplomats the government of President Ashraf Ghani would fall before Labor Day.

“I told a number of ambassadors in the region there; they should expect a collapse of Kabul by Labor Day, and I said that back in April, based on when the U.S. air pressure, when the Air Force really stopped bombing, when that threat largely disappears, then the Taliban would be able to group and mass as they have done, and then they start blowing up cities,” said Erik Prince, the Navy SEAL veteran and national security entrepreneur.

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Former President Trump Endorses Governor Bill Lee in Reelection Campaign

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump in a statement on Friday endorsed Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) in his campaign to seek a second term as Tennessee’s governor.

In the brief statement, Trump pointed out Lee’s record on a host of key issues, including support for law enforcement and border security.

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Arizona Rep. Biggs Will File Articles of Impeachment Against Department of Homeland Security Secretary

Peter D'Abrosca

An Arizona congressman said that he will file articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “in the coming weeks.” 

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) said the following in a statement on his website:

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Files Amicus Brief to Uphold Georgia ‘Election Integrity Act’

The Center Square
Attorney General Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that he joined a coalition of 16 states in filing an amicus brief urging the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to uphold the state’s recently-enacted “Election Integrity Act of 2021.”

The attorneys general expressed their support for Georgia’s motion to throw out the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against the new voting law, which Georgia said was based on “political posturing rather than a serious legal challenge.”

The “Election Integrity Act of 2021,” or Senate Bill 202, passed the legislature along party lines. Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga, signed the 98-page omnibus bill on March 25.

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Texas Congressman Calls for Impeachment of Biden over Immigration Policy

The Center Square

Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy is calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, citing their “reckless immigration policy” that many lawmakers argue is endangering the lives of Texans and Americans.

“Total encounters: 205,029. Total known getaways: 37,400. 1.3 million for 2021 so far. Largest monthly encounter number since 2000,” Roy tweeted.

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Arizona Senate President Karen Fann and Audit Liaison Ken Bennett Confirm Bennett Will Remain as Senate Liaison, Pledge Bennett Will Have ‘Full Access’

Cooper Moran
Ken Bennett

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann released a statement on Friday that confirmed former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett will continue to serve as the Senate’s Liason to the ongoing audit.

Further, Fann promised that Bennett will be granted “full access” to all aspects of the forensic audit, after Bennett threatened to leave the post earlier this week.

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Rep. Paul Gosar: Remove Reps. Cheney, Kinzinger from GOP Caucus

Admin

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) is calling for Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY-At-large) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16) to be removed from the Republican caucus for their failure to follow “party protocols.”

In an exclusive interview with Americans for Limited Government, Rep. Gosar said Cheney and Kinzinger should not be participating in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Jan. 6 capitol breach investigation.

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Twitter Suspends Accounts Documenting Arizona Audit

Corinne Murdock

Twitter permanently suspended several accounts dedicated to documenting the Arizona audit. The social media giant also permanently suspended other similar or affiliated accounts covering the audit or calls for an audit in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

The suspended accounts were: @arizonaaudit, @AuditWarRoom, @AuditMichigan, @AuditWisconsin, @AuditNevada, @AuditGeorgia, @Audit_Arizona and @Audit_PA. The latter 7 accounts are associated with an Instagram account, @auditwarroom, that hasn’t been suspended from the Facebook-owned platform. That account notified the public that it joined GETTR, a social media platform created by former President Donald Trump’s aide Jason Miller.

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Social Justice Group Tells White Dallas Residents Not to Send Kids to Ivy League Schools

Peter D'Abrosca

A letter sent from a social justice group called Dallas Justice Now asking white parents not to send their children to Ivy League or U.S. News and World Report Top 50 College is circulating the web. 

“We are writing to you because we understand that you are white and live within the Highland Park Independent School District and thus benefit from enormous privilege taken at the expense of communities of color,” the letter says. “Whether you know it or not, you earned or inherited your money through oppressing people of color. However, it is also our understanding that you are a Democrat and supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement which makes you one of our white allies and puts you in a position to help correct these cruel injustices. We need you to step up and back up your words with action and truly sacrifice to make our segregated city more just.”

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‘Global Health Threat’: Untreatable Fungus Spreading In DC, Dallas, CDC Says

Georgia Star News Staff

An untreatable fungus is spreading in health facilities in Washington, D.C., and Dallas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC issued an update Thursday regarding Candida auris, an emerging strain of fungus resistant to medication causing infections, fever and death. The fungus was detected in two hospitals in Dallas and a nursing home in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reported.

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Thousands Attend Trump Rally in Phoenix, Hosted by Turning Point Action and Featuring GOP Candidates

Laura Baigert

PHOENIX, Arizona – The Star News Network Wire Service – The energy of the thousands of attendees of former President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday, hosted by Turning Point Action at the Phoenix Federal Theater, carried over to the constant stream of Republican politicians who appeared over the more than three hours of the event prior to the the former president taking the stage.

Trump took advantage of the “Protect Our Elections” theme to detail many of the November 2020 election irregularities in Arizona and other states, as well as to thank the “brave and unyielding warriors in the Arizona State Senate,” who initiated the forensic audit in Maricopa County.

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Former President Trump Holds Rally in Phoenix, Highlights Election Security

Laura Baigert

PHOENIX, Arizona – The Star News Network Wire Service – Former President Trump took the stage to thunderous applause at his rally in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, where he highlighted efforts across the country he said are needed to ensure the integrity of elections.

“Thank you to Charlie [Kirk] for that introduction which was so beautiful, and for   your fearless leadership at Turning Point Action and Turning Point USA,” Trump told the crowd as he began his speech at 3:55 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

“Let me also express my appreciation to the thousands of bold, young, and proud American Patriots that are with us today. What a crowd, what a crowd … You are the pulse of our movement, you are the ones who will make America Great Again,” the 45th President of the United States added.

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House Oversight Committee Launches Investigation into Arizona Election Audit

Cooper Moran
Arizona Democrat Audit

Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee announced on Wednesday that they are launching an investigation into the forensic audit of ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona.

The group penned a letter to Douglas Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas Inc — the company hired by the Arizona State Senate to conduct the review of almost 2.1 million ballots.

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Former President Trump to Hold Phoenix Rally on July 24

Cooper Moran
Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will hold a rally in Phoenix, Arizona to highlight election security efforts.

Trump is hosting the rally, dubbed “Rally to protect Our Elections,” in connection with Turning Point USA — the group’s founder Charlie Kirk announced in a tweet.

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Arizona Secretary of State Requests Investigation into Former President Trump and Allies for ‘Election interference’

Cooper Moran

Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Secretary of State who recently launched a bid for governor, sent a letter to Attorney General Mark Brnovich and requested that he open an investigation into former President Donald Trump and his allies over allegations of “election interference.” 

“I urge you to take action not only to seek justice in this instance, but to prevent future attempts to interfere with the integrity of our elections. If your ethical duties prevent you from investigating this matter, I ask that you refer it to another enforcement agency,” Hobbs said in her letter to Brnovich.

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Newsom Recall Election Date Set for September 14

The Center Square

The recall election of California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been set for September 14.

Registered voters will receive a ballot in the mail whether they asked for one or not by mid-August.

“Gavin Newsom and his allies have tried every trick in the book to avoid this day of reckoning,” Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley said in a statement. Kiley, who has been asked by constituents to run for governor, said he will make an announcement about his own role in the recall “very soon.” He says the recall presents Californians with an opportunity “to turn the page on this era of corruption in California.”

Newsom’s campaign argues the election is “a naked attempt by Trump Republicans to grab control in California” and called on his supporters to “defend our state.”

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Trump Pledges to Never Give Ducey His Endorsement

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump released a statement blasting Arizona Governor Doug Ducey for his lack of support in examining concerns of election security for the November 2020 election. 

Additionally, Trump pledged to never give Ducey his endorsement, should Ducey elect to run for another office. The two-term Governor is prevented from running for re-election due to the state’s term limit rules. 

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Arizona Lawmakers Approve Mandated Investigations into Mismatched Ballot Signatures

Peter D'Abrosca
John Kavanagh

The Republican-controlled Arizona House of Representatives passed an amendment to an election integrity bill Monday that would require county attorneys or the state Attorney General’s office to investigate mismatched signatures on early voting ballots. 

The amendment to SB 1241 by Rep. John Kavanagh (R-District 23) is meant to protect the integrity of early voting, and Arizona’s elections as a whole according to the representative. 

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