May 18, 2021 - Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Congressman Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-04), and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) issued the following letter on Monday morning to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela Karlan regarding the audit of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01)

In the letter, the four Members of Congress called on Karlan to respond no later than Thursday, May 20th, with a commitment to uphold the rule of law and allow Arizona to confirm the 2020 elections were free and fair. Karlan previously disputed the integrity of the audit in a May 5th letter to the President of the Arizona State Senate Karen Fann.

Text of the letter may be found HERE or below.

LETTER TEXT:

Dear Ms. Karlan:

The Arizona State Senate has ordered an audit of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County. On May 5, 2021, on behalf of the Department of Justice, you unnecessarily weighed in with a letter to the President of the Arizona State Senate, Karen Fann.

You complain that “Maricopa County election records, which are required by federal law to be retained and preserved, are no longer under the ultimate control of elections officials, are not being adequately safeguarded by contractors, and are at risk of damage or loss.” Ironically, it is not the contractors who are mishandling evidence. According to Senator Fann, the independent auditors identified several concerns relating to Maricopa County’s handling, organization, and storage of ballots. It has also been widely reported that before the equipment was delivered to independent auditors, an entire “Database” directory of election information was deleted from the Election Management System Primary machine. According to Senator Fann, “this suggests that the main database for all election related data for the November 2020 General Election has been removed.”

On May 12, Senate President Fann published a letter seeking explanation of several irregularities uncovered during the early stages of the audit, including the chain of custody of the ballots has been insufficiently recorded which has resulted in “apparent omissions, inconsistencies and anomalies.”

The apparent deliberate deletion of the election management system prior to the information being transferred to the independent auditors, runs afoul of Arizona election law. That deletion happened long before the audit began.

Amazingly your May 5 letter mirrors an April 29, 2021, letter sent to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division by three left-leaning organizations, The Brennan Center for Justice, The Leadership Conference, and Protect Democracy. Such cribbing from these Leftist groups suggests that you are more concerned with your political fellow-travelers than election integrity.

You also intimate that the independent auditor’s plan to investigate whether questionable voter registrations correspond to the purported voter might equate to voter intimidation, when in reality the very letter you sent to Senator Fann is an attempt at intimidation, with the goal of convoluting this important audit. I urge you to uphold your duty to preserve Americans’ civil rights and support this audit, which will clear the air and restore election confidence, instead of trying to meddle in it.

Unlike yourself, Congressman Andy Biggs personally visited the site of the election audit and we are confident in the integrity of the process and look forward to reviewing the results, no matter what is found. In a constitutional republic, the most important thing you can do is make sure the integrity of our election system is protected, free, transparent, and open. That is what is taking place today.

At your earliest convenience but no later than Thursday, May 20, please respond to this letter with a commitment to uphold the rule of law and allow Arizona to confirm the 2020 elections were free and fair. Thank you for your attention to this matter, please contact my chief of staff if you wish to discuss this matter further.
Source: Congressman Matt Gaetz