Biggs, Gosar subpoenaed in Arizona attorney general inquiry of fake electors, report says
Attorney General Kris Mayes again said her investigation of the Republican electors who falsely claimed Donald Trump won Arizona in 2020 would wrap up "very soon" as new details came to light about the broadening reach of the probe.
"As I've said all along, we are engaged in a very serious, very professional investigation into what happened with the fake electors," Mayes told reporters on Thursday following a news conference on a different topic. "I'm not ready to stand before you here today and announce anything, but we will have something for you on that front very soon."
The same day, news organization Politico reported that Mayes' investigation included two subpoenas to U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, both Arizona Republicans. The subpoenas sought their testimony before a grand jury, and do not indicate Mayes might bring charges against them, according to Politico.
Mayes had previously said her investigation was focused on the 11 other Republicans who falsely certified after the 2020 election that Donald Trump had won. Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won the state. The subpoenas indicate a more broad look at efforts to overturn Trump's loss.
Gosar, Biggs have close ties to fake elector plan
Both congressman were closely tied to the plan to create slates of alternate electors — so-called fake electors — to keep Trump in the White House over the will of voters.
Gosar was outlining his argument for challenging Arizona's election result when rioters overtook the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Biggs, in text messages to Trump aide Mark Meadows three days after the election, said in "states where there's been shenanigans" he should submit alternate electors for Trump and have Republican-led legislatures formally support him.
A spokesperson for Mayes declined to comment on the Politico report, as did a spokesperson for Gosar. A spokesperson for Biggs did not respond to an email request for comment.
Several others have received subpoenas from an Arizona grand jury, signs that Mayes' investigation is nearing its conclusion. After hearing evidence, the grand jury will decide what, if any, criminal charges the slate of electors should face.
Fake elector says Mayes 'weaponizing our justice system'
The Arizona electors have largely avoided public acknowledgment of the reach of Mayes' investigation, refusing to confirm if they have been subpoenaed. Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, recently lashed out at the probe as political weaponization in a campaign speech on the steps of the county courthouse, but then refused to answer questions about his role.
Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek and another Trump elector, echoed that sentiment last week.
"I'm not commenting on the elector situation or the ongoings of the court proceedings," he told The Arizona Republic. "However what I can tell you is that we have a wildly corrupt Department of Justice and now a corrupt attorney general who are weaponizing our justice system both nationally and now at the state level to persecute their political enemies, and it's reprehensible. It's immoral, it's evil."
A faction of ultra-conservative Republicans powerful at the Arizona Legislature have often been crosswise with Mayes, who was elected in 2022 and began her investigation after taking office in early 2023. On Thursday, a panel of GOP House members held the first hearing designed to probe claims of weaponization of the Attorney General's Office.
But Democratic lawmakers and Mayes have dismissed that panel as a political stunt. They say Mayes is upholding the basic tenets of democracy with her prosecutions of Cochise County supervisors who sought to delay the 2022 election result, and her warnings to Mohave County supervisors that hand counts violate state law.
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona fake electors probe: Biggs, Gosar subpoenaed, report says
