Arizona Senate hindered Cyber Ninjas' efforts to release election records, 'audit' leader says

The leader of the discredited "audit" of 2020 election results says the Arizona Senate prevented records about the process from being made public.

Cyber Ninjas' former CEO Doug Logan, in a legal document dated July 10, accused lawmakers of refusing to help him comply with court orders to produce thousands of documents, even though he was working directly for the Senate.

He pointed the finger at former Senate President Karen Fann, who authorized the monthslong hand recount of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County that was organized by allies of former President Donald Trump.

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"Repeatedly, I asked the Senate to assist with Cyber Ninjas' production of the Senate's audit-related records, but the Senate refused," Logan said in a three-page declaration. "Senator Fann made it clear that the Senate would not aid in processing records."

The declaration was part of a settlement agreement with The Arizona Republic, which fought a two-year legal battle with the Cyber Ninjas and the Senate to force the disclosure of emails, texts and other documents related to the recount.

Logan's statements could bolster The Republic's attempts to recover nearly $690,000 in legal fees. He maintained the Senate was "responsible for Cyber Ninjas' creation and disclosure of such records."

Logan, who dissolved his cybersecurity company in 2021, has agreed to pay $95,000 in legal fees to be released from any further liability.

The Arizona Senate, through its lawyer, declined to comment Monday on Logan's declaration or the settlement.

"The Senate already addressed this issue in court and won't comment further to The Republic, the opposing party in this case, while The Republic appeals the court's ruling in favor of the Senate," Senate lawyer Kory Langhofer said in an email.

The Republic’s lawsuit is among the biggest public records cases ever fought in the state.

Courts first ordered the Senate and Cyber Ninjas to make the records public in August 2021 and then repeatedly ruled against their efforts to keep documents related to the ballot recount secret. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the ruling a month later, and the Arizona Supreme Court declined to take up the Senate's appeal.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge in April upheld the amount of legal fees owed to the Republic. However, the judge ruled Cyber Ninjas alone was liable for them. The Republic appealed, claiming public bodies such as the Senate were responsible for legal fees in public records cases where the party suing for records substantially prevailed.

"We are challenging the trial court's ruling to the extent that it exonerated the Arizona Senate and held only Cyber Ninjas and the Logans responsible for violations of the Arizona Public Records Law," said David Bodney, lawyer for The Republic and its parent company, Phoenix Newspapers Inc.

"This appeal is necessitated by the importance of holding the Arizona Senate accountable for the expenses incurred ... to secure thousands of public records," Bodney said.

Republic editor: 'Arizona Senate ultimately is responsible'

Texts, emails and other records released long after the so-called "audit" ended put lie to claims made by Fann and other lawmakers that the recount was nonpartisan and not undertaken in an effort to restore Trump to power after he lost the 2020 election in Arizona.

Records showed the “audit” was part of a nationwide effort to undermine elections in states Democrat Joe Biden won — and that the people involved were working behind the scenes to access voting equipment in Arizona and other states, including Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Fann said when she launched the audit that it "absolutely has nothing to do with Trump." It wasn't true. Records showed Trump's allies and lawyers were involved in nearly every facet of the "audit."

Fann had communicated with retired Army Col. Phil Waldron and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as she prepared to launch the “audit.” Waldron, a staunch loyalist to Donald Trump, helped draft subpoenas the Arizona Senate used to seize Maricopa County election data.

Fann also wanted to keep mum on "audit" funding, according to text messages released by Logan.

"The Republic fought for two years to make available records of a politically motivated hand count of ballots, far outside normal government practices, to the voters who participated in that election," said Greg Burton, Republic executive editor.

"We're pleased with the settlement with Doug Logan and Cyber Ninjas. But the Arizona Senate ultimately is responsible. So now all eyes should be on the Senate to meet its obligation to transparency and to the court," he said.

The Republic's lawsuit forced Logan to release documents that showed he reached out to Trump through associates to ask the former president to pay for the “audit” and that Trump was keeping tabs on the effort.

Texts and emails showed Logan exchanged thousands of messages with Christina Bobb, a former conservative television host and Trump lawyer now working for the Republican National Committee.

Bobb was indicted in April by an Arizona grand jury in her role in the fake electors scheme and has pleaded not guilty. Records show while using her television show to raise money for the "audit," Bobb advised Logan on everything from communicating with workers to finessing donors to responding to federal investigators.

Other texts revealed Logan worked directly with Michigan lawyer Stefanie Lambert, who enlisted him in a campaign to access voting software in several swing states before and during the "audit." Michigan authorities arrested Lambert in May on charges related to tampering with election equipment. She has maintained her innocence.

Lambert repeatedly sought to include the bogus claims of election fraud even as Logan told her in private texts the claims were meritless, records show.

The Republic’s lawsuit also uncovered messages that showed that Logan wasn’t familiar with Arizona election law when he was hired and ultimately could not add up the tally sheets that “audit” workers used to count votes.

"Looks like basically our numbers are screwy," Logan said in a Sept. 13, 2021, text message.

That meant the work of hundreds of workers and volunteers — who spent two months in 2021 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix reviewing ballots and recording individual votes onto more than 70,000 tally sheets — couldn't be verified.

Logan’s final report to the Senate concluded that Biden received more votes than Trump — and even more than the official vote tally from Maricopa County. While the Cyber Ninjas' election review confirmed Biden's victory in Arizona, Logan's report to the Senate focused on so-called anomalies that raised doubts about the process.

Logan's findings allowed Trump allies to insist the vote was compromised. Its immediate aftermath was to further instill distrust in voting machines and encourage partisan calls for paper ballot tabulations, hand recounts and "audits."

The "audit" has so far cost taxpayers about $5.5 million.

Logan: Senate did not help in complying with court orders

Logan in his declaration said he produced tens of thousands of texts and emails without assistance from the Senate. He said the Senate's unwillingness to help put him and his wife in legal jeopardy — and led to contempt fines of $50,000 a day against his company.

"Although the courts required Cyber Ninjas to produce the Senate's audit-related records that Cyber Ninjas had in its custody or control, Cyber Ninjas lacked the financial resources to produce those audit-related records, and therefore failed to do so promptly," Logan said.

The Senate appeared to show no interest in helping comply with court orders "requiring the Senate and its custodian of records, Cyber Ninjas, to produce public records," Logan said.

Logan said the Senate delayed for months in paying $100,000 it owed to Cyber Ninjas as part of its contract to lead the ballot recount, which created additional financial hurdles.

Ultimately, it was The Republic's lawsuit — not Fann or the Senate — that Logan said propelled him to release the records.

"It was not the result of any purported efforts by the Senate," he said. "Instead, the Senate refused to aid or assist Cyber Ninjas in the production of these audit-related public records in any meaningful way."

Fann, reached by phone Monday, disputed Logan's declaration.

"Mr. Logan is not correct on his statement," she said, without elaborating on what he got wrong or discussing the case.

"Because of the pending litigation between the Arizona Republic and the Senate, I have been advised to not comment any further," she said.

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @robertanglen.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Senate hindered release of election records, Cyber Ninjas CEO claims