Arizona Senate President Demands DOJ Investigation of Mayes, Fontes Over Election Probe Interference
Agent
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen has called on the Department of Justice to investigate Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for obstruction of justice and witness tampering in connection with a federal grand jury investigation into the 2020 election.
Petersen sent the letter to Timothy Courchaine, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, on Tuesday. He said he received legal advice to comply with an FBI subpoena regarding the investigation, and that Mayes and Fontes are now asking him to produce detailed information about what he turned over.
The records concern an audit the Senate conducted in 2021 amid allegations that, despite official election returns, Donald Trump actually outpolled Joe Biden. The Senate obtained an opinion letter from a private law firm concluding that the Senate was obligated to comply with the subpoena.
Unable to win in court in their efforts to seize the private data of Arizona voters, the Trump administration is attempting an end run around the rulings against them in these cases by weaponizing the federal grand jury process, Attorney General Mayes said.
It won't work, Mayes added. This is about laying the groundwork to deny the results of the 2026 election if they don't go their way, she said. No matter what Warren Petersen or the Trump administration have to say, I took an oath to uphold our Constitution and defend our elections and I will not be deterred from doing so.
In response to Petersen's letter, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said his office was working to identify legal options to secure personal voter information in the 2020 data that was shared. While Arizona State Senator Petersen continues to prioritize Donald Trump's wishes over the safety and security of Arizona's voters, I can confidently affirm that these methods of intimidation will not stop our work, Fontes said.
This pattern of conduct suggests an inappropriate attempt to interfere with the grand jury's ongoing investigation, Petersen wrote in his letter to Courchaine. He pointed out that just last month, Fontes and Mayes told county election officials to refuse to comply with any grand jury subpoenas at all for their voter records.
The pair reminded the counties that there already is a lawsuit in federal court over whether the Department of Justice is entitled to a full and unredacted list of voter information. There is currently no date set for a hearing.
Petersen, who is hoping to unseat Mayes in November, said what makes the information records that he surrendered pursuant to that subpoena particularly significant is that they are only available records left from that race. Arizona law requires that election records, including ballots, be destroyed after 22 months.
But the audit conducted by the Senate did retain images of the 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County.
Petersen, who helped oversee the Senate Republicans' election review in 2020, now plans to run for attorney general.
Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County recorder, says the 2020 election survived countless reviews. Trump's claims that his election was stolen have focused on unproven allegations of voter fraud, Petersen's letter makes clear.
This is not about 2020. This is about laying the groundwork to deny the results of the 2026 election if they don't go their way, Mayes said. Arizonans will not be fooled. Despite multiple court challenges, investigations and audits that all showed the 2020 election in Arizona was conducted fairly, transparently and securely, Warren Petersen inexplicably remains an election denier six years later, she said.