Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs seeks probe of Trump allies

Arizona Secretary of State asking for probe into potential election tampering by GOP officials

It's been eight months since the November 2020 election, and two Democratic politicians in Arizona, including Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, are asking for investigations into whether GOP officials committed election tampering in the days following the election in Arizona. FOX 10's Matt Galka reports.

PHOENIX - On July 7, Arizona’s Secretary of State asked the state's Attorney General to investigate whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke the law in their efforts to pressure Maricopa County officials after the 2020 election.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, suggested in a letter to Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, that overtures by the former president, attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward may have violated laws against election interference.

"I urge you to take action not only to seek justice in this instance, but to deter future attempts to interfere with the integrity of our elections," Hobbs wrote to Brnovich.

Voicemails from the White House on behalf of then-President Trump. Calls and texts from Rudy Giuliani, and Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward. Records show they were all reaching out to Maricopa County Supervisors after the November election, some of them urging the supervisors to stop counting votes.

"These are people that were directly contacting members of the Board of Supervisors who were involved in certifying the election and tabulation and telling them to stop. That is interference," said Secretary of State Hobbs.

Congressman Ruben Gallego has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to do the same

"This isn’t a citizen that’s concerned about a count. This isn't someone wondering about the legal count. This is a conspiracy potentially between an elected official, Donald Trump, his election lawyer, Giuliani, and an elected party official trying to put pressure on someone involved in the count," said Rep. Gallego.

We have reached out to the Attorney General's Office, and they have confirmed that they received Hobbs' letter. However, they had no further comment.

Hobbs and Brnovich have a fraught history with election law enforcement. Hobbs quietly filed complaints against Brnovich and several lawyers in his office with the Arizona State Bar alleging they failed to accurately represent her in election cases.

The Republican-controlled Legislature later stripped Hobbs of her power to represent the state in election cases, temporarily transferring it to Brnovich until both officials leave office in 2023.

Hobbs has gained a national profile by standing up for the accuracy of Arizona’s 2020 elections. She’s now running for governor. Brnovich is running for U.S. Senate and has been publicly criticized by Trump, who says he hasn’t done enough to support Trump’s efforts to overturn or cast doubt on Biden’s victory.

The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.