Maricopa County Officials Refuse to Turn Over Subpoenaed Devices Used in 2020 Election
May 7th 2021, 8:16 am
Unspecified security risk to law enforcement data in officials refusal to turn over subpoenaed internet routers to state legislature
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Law enforcement officials in Maricopa County, Arizona are refusing to turn over electronic devices subpoenaed by the Arizona State Legislature this week, claiming that compliance with the legislature’s lawful order would create an unspecified “security risk” to “law enforcement data.”
A letter signed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and addressed to former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett vigorously defended officials’ decision to not turn over internet routers, but did not elaborate on the purported risk that complying with the subpoena would cause.
(AP Photo/Matt York)
The group conducting the election audit in Maricopa County in Arizona claims the county is refusing to turn over routers or even images of routers to election auditors, according to a report, in deliberate defiance of a judge’s ruling.
Arizona Senate’s liaison for the audit, former Republican Secretary of State Ken Bennett, was informed of the news by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office this week. The county had previously refused to comply with the subpoenas but had been ordered by a judge in February to provide the equipment to auditors.
“We had previously believed that the risk would be eliminated by redacting the law enforcement data on the routers and not producing it,” Joseph LaRue, deputy county attorney, explained in a letter obtained by
Steven has since resigned from his position as a captain with the Scottsdale Fire Department.
Jennifer Liewer, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Attorney s Office, wrote in an email to
Phoenix New Times on May 6 that the case has been sent back to the Mesa Police Department for additional investigation. Prosecutors would like additional interviews to be completed and for additional information about the incident to be provided to our office, she wrote. There are witness statements and videos that we don’t have yet that we want to review before making a charging decision.
Detective Nik Resheta, a spokesperson for the Mesa Police Department, dismissed the decision to refer the case back to the department as common.
May 7, 2021
Law enforcement officials in Maricopa County, Arizona are refusing to turn over electronic devices subpoenaed by the Arizona State Legislature this week, claiming that compliance with the legislature’s lawful order would create an unspecified “security risk” to “law enforcement data.”
A letter signed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and addressed to former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett vigorously defended officials’ decision to not turn over internet routers, but did not elaborate on the purported risk that complying with the subpoena would cause.
“While the County was delivering the subpoenaed material to the Senate’s custody on Thursday, April 22, 2021, MCAO was notified that delivering routers, or ‘virtual images’ of routers, posed a significant security risk to law enforcement data utilized by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as well as numerous federal agencies,” the letter stated, adding, “We also learned
Thu, 05/06/2021 - 00:26 legitgov
Maricopa County Admits to Withholding Routers Demanded in Senate Subpoena | 5 May 2021 | Maricopa County officials have not fully complied with the State Senate s election audit subpoenas, a decision made to avoid causing a significant security risk to data utilized by numerous law enforcement agencies, the Maricopa County Attorney s Office said Monday. We had previously believed that the risk would be eliminated by redacting the law enforcement data on the routers and not producing it. But we were informed that redaction did not eliminate the risk, Deputy County Attorney Joseph LaRue wrote in a letter to Senate Audit Liaison Ken Bennett. The letter from LaRue was prompted by Bennett s comments to KFYI s James T. Harris on Monday that Maricopa County officials are not in compliance with subpoenas signed by Senate President Karen Fann and Senate Judiciary Chair Warren Petersen. A judge ruled in February the legislative subpoenas are valid.