Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich /Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
State Attorney General Mark Brnovich is warning his federal counterpart to stay out of the way of the current audit of the 2020 election returns.
In a letter Monday to Merrick Garland, Brnovich said he is displaying “an alarming disdain for state sovereignty” by suggesting that there may the need for some federal oversight of what is playing out at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. And Brnovich hinted that any intrusion will result in a lawsuit.
“Arizona will not sit back and let the Biden administration abuse its authority, refuse to uphold laws, or attempt to commandeer our state’s sovereignty,” wrote Brnovich who recently announced his bid to become the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
What’s causing the latest political dust-up between Brnovich and the administration is a speech that Garland made Friday suggesting that ballot reviews like the one in Arizona are “based on disinformation.” More to the point, Garland said his agency is watching — and may take action.
“The Justice Department will do everything in its power to prevent election fraud and to vigorously prosecute it,” he said of the role of his agency.
“But many of the justifications proffered in support of these post-election audits and restrictions on voting have relief on assertions on material vote fraud in the 2020 election that have been refused by law enforcement and intelligence agencies,” Garland said.
