Category: Legal

Benny White, J.D.

September 17, 2021

As you know, we submitted a Public Records Request on August 11 for the ballot and vote counts generated by the Senate election review. We have not received those counts yet.

The Arizona Supreme Court dissolved the stay that was holding up the release of public records to American Oversight in its decision not to hear the appeal filed by the Senate. That decision by the Supreme Court threw the case back into Judge Kemp’s court for a final decision. Yesterday, Judge Kemp issued an order that may be helpful to break the logjam holding up release of these records.

The order tells the Senate to produce a pleading by the end of the day, Friday, September 17, listing all of the records they have received from the Ninjas and an expected schedule for the receipt of all records. If that pleading includes the counts we have requested we may be able to demand a response to our Public Records Request and get the counts in the near future, possibly before the Ninjas give their report to the Senate. I am not holding my breath.

However, Judge Kemp also prolonged the process, which he is required to do by legal procedures rules. Now, the principals in the American Oversight case will appear before Judge Kemp on October 7 to argue the issue of legislative immunity which the Senate is claiming to withhold records and redact vital information from documents they have produced.

That means we may not see the Ninja counts until sometime in mid- to late October, well after the Ninjas have submitted their “report” and the claims they make have been widely and frequently broadcast across the media outlets and social media without any way for us to factually counter what they claim.

The obfuscation by the Senate in contracting out important legislative work and then failing to properly supervise that work is frustrating for everyone. We are continuing to do everything we can to hold everyone involved accountable for the damage they have done and continue to do with this fraud.

Stay tuned.

Benny White, JD

September 2, 2021

I submitted a new public records request yesterday for a few ballot images and training materials related to electronic adjudication of ballots counted in the Maricopa County 2020 General Election.

Allegations were made that there were too many ballots modified and that there was no way to tell what changes were made. In addition, there were claims that the changes were made to ensure Joe Biden won. None of that was true.

Check out the recent public records request to learn what really happened and why we want to review a few ballot images.

Benny White, JD

August 24, 2021

On Thursday of last week the Arizona Court of Appeals issued its decision that the trial court decisions in American Oversight v Fann would be upheld. There were two decisions by Judge Kemp at the trial court level earlier. One was that the Senate had to produce records being requested by various parties and that they had to collect records their agents had accumulated while doing work for the Senate. In addition, those records had to be produced by August 31.

On Friday, the Senate filed a Petition to Review (PR) with the Arizona Supreme Court in order to appeal the decision by the Court of Appeals. The immediate result of that action was to continue the Stay for release of public records that was ordered initially by the Court of Appeals before they heard the case last Wednesday. So, for the moment, no one is getting any public records from the Senate or their agents.

The Arizona Supreme Court is not obligated to grant review of the decision by the Court of Appeals. However, they probably will due to the fact that the matter is of statewide importance and involves a high level of public interest. The Justices can take their time to decide whether or not to hear the appeal and then when various pleadings must be filed. In short, I don’t expect a quick decision from the court but we might hear something by the end of next week.

Stay tuned.

Benny White, JD

August 19, 2021

The Arizona Court of Appeals issued an order this afternoon telling the Arizona Senate that they must deliver documents they have custody of and those held by the agents, i.e., the CyberNinjas and their subcontractors.

Our public records is a bit different than those at issue in the American Oversight and Phoenix Newspapers cases. Those cases involve funding and process questions. Our request is the only request, so far, for the work products of the Ninjas and the Senate hand count and machine count of ballots. Without those counts there is no way to compare anything the Ninjas report to the official results.

It is critical that our requests for the counts be responded to in a timely manner. Otherwise the Ninjas can make any claims they like but there will be no way to check to see if they are valid or not.

We are hopeful the custodian of the Senate records will read the recent court decision in the same way we do and will promptly deliver the records of the counts.

If you want to read the court order it can be found here.

Stay tuned.

Benny White, JD

August 16, 2021

There are some important court hearings coming up that will decide whether the Senate has to produce records they and their agents have accumulated during their so-called “forensic audit.”

One case involves Phoenix Newspapers Inc. v Arizona State Senate. That case is moving slowly and will be impacted by a different case, Fann v Kemp, being heard this week and a companion case Fann v Kemp and American Oversight, being heard next week in the Arizona Court of Appeals Division One.

Both of these cases are asking for similar records from the Senate. The Senate and their agent, CyberNinjas, have argued that they have legislative immunity and are independent contractors and are therefore not subject to Arizona’s Public Records Law. On August 2, Judge Kemp, in Maricopa County Superior Court decided in the American Oversight case that the records accumulated during the “audit” were public records and the Senate was required to obtain records from their agents if they were not already in possession of the records. That ruling is being appealed.

On Wednesday, August 18, Fann v Kemp, will be heard to decide whether the case can proceed as a Special Action. The Court of Appeals will probably decide that the matter is appropriate for a Special Action since it involves public officers and agencies. But next week on Wednesday, August 25, the important case, Fann v Kemp and American Oversight, will be heard. That case will decide whether Judge Kemp was correct and the requested records must be produced or Senator Fann is correct that they don’t have to tell the public what they have been doing.

We expect a decision after the hearing on the American Oversight case prior to Labor Day. The difference between what the newspapers and American Oversight is asking for is that we are asking for the ballot counts and the vote counts. The other requests don’t cover those and without those counts the public will never know if the reports by the Ninjas and the Senate are correct or not. That is why I submitted a public records request for the records involving the counts of ballots and votes generated by the Ninjas and the Senate machine count of the ballots. Without those records the Ninjas and the Arizona Senators can say anything they want to say and there will be no way for the public to see if they are telling the truth or not.

No matter what the Court of Appeals decides, I expect the losing party to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. There are numerous deadlines for filing various pleadings and for the Supreme Court to decide whether or not they want to hear the case. I expect them to take the case because it is an urgent matter of statewide importance. With all of that said election cases are generally expedited through the courts. I anticipate that the Arizona Supreme Court will hear the case and issue an opinion by the end of September. The loser in that case could petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case but I doubt either party will take it that far.