Arizona Recount Stalled by Judge's Order to Security Firm
A weekend of contention stalked the effort to recount the Election Day results from Arizona’s Maricopa County.
The recount was ordered by the Republicans who control the Arizona state Senate to settle — once and for all — questions regarding the integrity of the November election in which Democratic President Joe Biden won the state over former President Donald Trump.
“I believe that a proper audit will show that the election results were fraudulent,” attorney Lin Wood said Friday, according to The Washington Post. “I think that’s in the best interest of our nation and will hopefully lead to other states also doing proper audits.”
Democrats trying to halt the recount have filed a lawsuit trying to block the process, which began Friday.
However, they blinked when they decided not to post a $1 million bond that would cover the costs of the delay they wanted in the recount.
That should have cleared the way for the recount to move forward, but now attorneys for Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based company hired to conduct the recount, are balking at an order from Judge Christopher Coury to turn over the firm’s procedures for conducting the recount, according to the Arizona Republic.
A filing from the company dated Sunday said making those records public would compromise the recount’s security and reveal trade secrets.
The company also insisted that because it has been hired by the state Senate, its documents are protected by legislative privilege.
And as if that were not enough wrinkles in the lawsuit for one weekend, Coury recused himself, saying that a lawyer on the legal team for Cyber Ninjas had recently worked in his office.
That means that although there is a hearing on the lawsuit Monday, it will need to be reassigned to another Maricopa County Superior Court judge.
The Democratic side framed its argument in terms of transparency.
“This is a simple case that asks for simple relief: that agents of the Arizona Senate who purport to be conducting an ‘audit’ of Maricopa County’s election results follow state law and ensure the safety and security of ballots, voting equipment, and voters’ personal information,” attorney Roopali Desai wrote in a filing.
Republicans say the lawsuit is bogus.
“This command is categorical, unqualified and pellucid: members of the Legislature may not be sued while the Legislature is in session. Period,” attorney Thomas Basile, representing the Senate, wrote in his filing.
The company said it should not be forced to give up its secrets to appease Democrats.
“Clearly the documents Cyber Ninjas has been ordered to file are Confidential Information for various reasons including that they constitute business information and concepts as well as operational information and records and reflect the know-how of Cyber Ninjas,” Alexander Kolodin, a lawyer for Cyber Ninjas, wrote in a filing.
The company “expects to have similar business opportunities to undertake such work for other governments around the country” and is loath to give possible competitors an edge, he wrote.
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