Arizona State Sens. Karen Fann, Kelly Townsend subpoenaed by FBI in connection with Jan. 6 probe

2 Arizona State Senators subpoenaed by federal officials

Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann, as well as State Senator Kelly Townsend, have become the latest person to be subpoenaed by the FBI, according to officials with the Arizona Senate Republicans.

PHOENIX - Officials with the FBI have subpoenaed two Arizona Senate Republicans in connection with an investigation into former President Donald Trump's alleged pressure campaign on state-level officials following the 2020 election.

According to Kim Quintero with the Arizona Senate Republicans, State Senate President Karen Fan, as well as State Senator Kelly Townsend, were targeted by the subpoenas.

Quintero wrote that she cannot comment further on this matter, since the documents expressly state that Fann is not to comment on the matter.

Elsewhere in her statement, Quintero lambasted the subpoena as "political theatrics" by President Joe Biden's administration.

"We only wish they’d put as much effort into inflation, gas prices and border security," the statement read, in part.

However, Quintero did state that Fann is fully cooperating in "releasing whatever emails and text messages they are requesting."

"We have no reason to believe she will be called to testify in Washington D.C.," Quintero wrote.

Investigators reportedly wanted to look at records from Fann and Townsend. Fann led a charge to conduct a controversial audit of Arizona's election results, while Townsend was a vocal supporter of the audit.

Results of the audit, released in September 2021, found no proof to support former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. The firm hired by Republican lawmakers issued a report that experts described as riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology. Still, the review came up with a vote tally that would not have altered the outcome, finding that Biden won by 360 more votes than the official results certified last year.

Other Arizonans have also been subpoenaed

Fann is not the first Arizonan to have been subpoenaed in connection with Jan. 6.

In February, it was reported that Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, along with her husband, have filed a lawsuit that seeks to block a subpoena of their phone records by the Jan. 6 committee.

Both Ward and her husband were presidential electors who would have voted for Donald Trump had he won Arizona's electoral votes. Both signed a document falsely claiming they were Arizona’s true electors, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Lawyers for the Wards, who are both physicians, argue that turning over their phone records would compromise the private health information of their patients. They also say it would violate their 1st Amendment rights.

State Rep. Mark Finchem was also subpoenaed alongside Ward. Their subpoenas came weeks after Nancy Cottle and Loraine B. Pellegrino were subpoenaed by the same committee.

Like Ward, Cottle and Pellegrino were presidential electors. Finchem was not an elector for any candidate in the 2020 presidential election.