Rep. Mark Finchem Says He Has Proof Of Arizona Election Fraud. Months Later, He Hasn't Turned It Over

Robert Anglen / Arizona Republic

Published 12:00 p.m. MT Mar. 12, 2021 | Updated 12:44 p.m. MT Mar. 12, 2021

 

Rep. Mark Finchem has been saying for weeks that he's only days away from turning over proof of election fraud to Arizona's attorney general.

But now, four months after voting ended, he has not requested a meeting with state authorities. Nor has he provided the evidence he said would spark a criminal investigation and a grand jury probe.

The Attorney General's Office confirmed to The Arizona Republic that Finchem has not contacted the office to request an investigation into fraud that he and other legislators claim plagued the state's 2020 election.

“Representative Finchem has not met with investigators from our office to discuss allegations of voter fraud or the 2020 election," Attorney General's Office spokesman Ryan Anderson said. "Our office has consistently said that if anyone has evidence of voter fraud, they are encouraged to contact our investigators."

Finchem, R-Oro Valley, has touted his evidence — without specifics — at rallies, on social media and in interviews with conservative pundits, including Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon.

"We want the Attorney General's Office to examine the evidence and to make a determination as to whether or not a grand jury investigation should go forward," Finchem told Bannon in a livestream broadcast at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

Finchem said he and Arizona Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, would meet with state authorities on March 3 to push for a criminal investigation.

"This coming Wednesday, Sen. Borrelli and I will be meeting with representatives from the Arizona Attorney General's Office," Finchem told Bannon. "And we're going to be asking for a grand jury."

Bannon said Finchem and Borrelli were "tough hombres."

The meeting, like others Finchem promised, never happened.

Finchem on Thursday declined comment and refused to discuss his evidence of election fraud. But he tried to suggest through a spokesperson that the attorney general was investigating his claims.

"He has consistently declined comment on any AZ AG investigation that may be in progress," the spokesperson said.

Borrelli did not respond to an interview request on Thursday.
Finchem talks up case on far-right sites

Finchem hasn't been reluctant to talk about an attorney general's investigation in right-wing forums.

He's raised it twice in podcast and YouTube interviews and he's promoted his election fraud claims in pro-Trump journals, emails to supporters, meetings with legislators, social media posts and at rallies in Arizona and Washington, D.C.

In a Feb. 23 interview on Arizona Today, a far-right YouTube show, Finchem said he and Borrelli had gathered enough evidence of election fraud to impanel a grand jury. "In the coming days," Finchem said, he would seek a meeting with the Attorney General's Office.

"There's enough there that pierces the test for probable cause," Finchem told host Lyle Rapacki of Prescott. "In Arizona, specifically, there was sufficient criminality before the election, during the election and possibly even after the election, for a grand jury."
What does a grand jury do?

Grand juries hear cases brought by prosecutors to decide if there is enough evidence to charge a person with a crime.

Impaneling a grand jury is a secret and complex process. A person can't just call up the Attorney General's Office and ask for a grand jury investigation, not even a legislator.

"Nobody has a special right to a grand jury," former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said. "An outside party can't simply tell you he wants a grand jury."

Goddard, who served as attorney general from 2003 to 2011, said the ability to convene a grand jury is a very important power bestowed on the office.

Arizona makes it a crime for authorities to publicly discuss grand juries or their investigations. Jurors are impaneled outside of the public view, consider evidence and deliberate in secret before handing up any indictments.

Goddard, a Democrat, said Arizona's electoral system has withstood past allegations of fraud. And he said the current allegations of fraud surrounding the 2020 election are very familiar.

Source

 

PAID FOR BY STONEWALL DEMOCRATS OF ARIZONA • NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 87222, Tucson, Arizona 85754 | Email: info@stonewalldemsaz.org
All Original Content Copyright ©2021 Stonewall Democrats of Arizona. All Rights Reserved.  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Service  |  Fair Use Notice