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https://www.americanoversight.org/how-the-arizona-election-audit-has-already-been-compromised
...Allied Security Operations Group, a firm that was :{behind a discredited report:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: claiming irregularities in Michigan’s Antrim County, was reportedly nearly hired by Fann :{in early February:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: before the Senate eventually went with Cyber Ninjas. Nevertheless, Allied Security’s Phil Waldron — who was on the witness list Bobb sent to Fann on Dec. 4, and who :{spoke at Giuliani’s Nov. 30 hearing:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: — appears to have played a role in the procurement process. In :{a Feb. 2 email:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: to Steve Davis of Digital Discovery, Fann said that their firm had been recommended to perform the audit. Davis’ reply was :{forwarded to Waldron:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:, who forwarded it back to Fann, suggesting that Waldron may have been involved in the selection of Digital Discovery. (:{In late May:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:, Digital Discovery indicated that it hadn’t worked on the audit.)
On Jan. 28, the day after the county selected contractors Pro V&V and SLI Compliance to conduct :{its independent audit:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:, Waldron sent :{an email:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: to Fann and state Sen. Warren Petersen accusing Pro V&V of having conflicts of interest and saying that SLI Compliance had “indicated a hesitancy to talk about working” with Allied Security. Pro V&V and SLI Compliance are the :{only two companies:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: accredited by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to certify voting machines.
American Oversight also obtained :{a memo:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: from an unidentified author that indicates that any auditor accredited by the EAC would be unable to detect fraud — thus taking the existence of such fraud as a given. The memo, which appears to be hand-marked by Fann and recommends the hiring of Allied Security as well as conspiracy theorist Jovan Hutton Pulitzer, is undated, but mentions Giuliani’s Nov. 30 hearing and precedes the selection of auditors.
PARTISAN AND POLITICAL ORIGINS
Other records evince the clearly partisan and political goals of those involved — including the overturning of election results. One failed scheme for subverting the certification of Biden’s win involved the appointment of new, pro-Trump electors. American Oversight previously obtained copies of :{phony electoral vote certificates:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: from Arizona and other states that were submitted to Congress; in the spring, the :{:{Arizona Republic :(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}::(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}::{reported:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: that former state Rep. Anthony Kern, who was at the Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6 attack and whose signature appears on Arizona’s fake certificate, was helping count Maricopa County ballots.
The elector-replacement scheme was floated in a :{Nov. 12 letter to Fann:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: from members of the Oklahoma Senate. In the letter, Majority Whip Rob Standridge wrote: “If a legislature were to decide that as a result of fraud, or some other reason that undermined the validity of the election, that the results will not be trusted, they would be obligated to appoint Electors that would represent the will of the people.” The letter does not point to any evidence of fraud.
The partisan orientation of the “audit” is also evident, and not just from the fact that the state Senate’s Republican majority initiated the operation along party lines. On April 22, 2021, Bruce Ash, the former national committeeman of the Arizona Republican Party, emailed Tommy Hicks, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, to ask that the RNC help finance the defense against Democrats’ legal challenges to the “audit.” Ash wrote that he was contacting Hicks “at the behest of” Fann and Randy Pullen, a spokesperson for the audit and a former chair of the Arizona Republican Party.
Finally, American Oversight also obtained the :{service agreement:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: with the Arizona Rangers, the armed volunteer group that provided security at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, the site of the recount operation. The agreement says that the buyer is Guardian Defense Fund — the same organization set up as a:{**legal defense fund**:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear;background-color:#ffff66;"):}:for Kern, state Rep. Mark Finchem, and U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar following their attendance at the “Stop the Steal” rally and march that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
INVOLVEMENT OF CONSPIRACY THEORISTS
The involvement of external groups and individuals with dubious motivations, including those who advance dangerous conspiracy theories, is another reason to be mistrustful of any “findings.” While the operation’s funding has been largely :{shielded from the public:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:, outside supporters have raised money for it, including OAN’s Christina Bobb and Trump ally Patrick Byrne, who produced a :{conspiracy theory film:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: that features appearances by “audit” spokesperson and former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett as well as by Doug Logan.
Other conspiracy theorists have been more directly involved in the recount’s actual work, to varying and sometimes unknown degrees. American Oversight has obtained a number of communications pointing to this close involvement.
JOVAN HUTTON PULITZER
In the spring, Jovan Hutton Pulitzer — whose reported idea that ballots had been smuggled in from Asia was behind workers’ hunt for bamboo fibers in the ballots — claimed that technology he had developed was being used in the recount. Among the records American Oversight has uncovered is a :{Jan. 25 email:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: from Pulitzer, which was forwarded by Fann to Petersen and Eddie Farnsworth, a former state senator who prior to leaving office in January :{had issued:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: the original subpoenas to Maricopa County for the ballots and election materials. The email from Pulitzer appears to be a follow-up from a call with Fann, and Pulitzer outlined what his team would do with the ballots: “All that my team does is high-speed scan in all ballots in their native state … and allow machines to inspect without bias and produce a report.”
American Oversight also obtained undated text messages exchanged by Randy Pullen (before he became officially involved in the “audit”) and Liz Harris, a former Republican state legislative candidate who has been organizing some of the questionable direct canvassing operations. :{In one message:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:, Harris said that she had “just learned” that Waldron and Pulitzer would not be on the audit team. “What happened?????” she asked.
BOBBY PITON
Another prominent voice among those spreading lies about the election is that of Bobby Piton, who spoke at Giuliani’s Nov. 30 “hearing” in Phoenix. While the records uncovered by American Oversight contain emails in which both :{Bennett:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: and :{Pullen:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: respond to outside inquiries by saying that they didn’t know who Piton was or whether he was involved (Pullen’s inquiry came from conservative activist Christine Bauserman), the records also contain :{a December email:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: from Piton to Arizona legislators, including Fann, Farnsworth, and Petersen.
“It is my hope that ALL of you do the right thing, DE-Certify and Do a Re-count and Rightfully Respect the Will of the People of the Great State of Arizona and Ensure that President Donald J. Trump receives the 11 electoral college votes,” wrote Piton on Dec. 11. “He earned, and over 90 Million Americans have his back!” Piton attached “evidence” to the email, including :{notes from Harris:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: regarding her and volunteers’ work “to prove the widespread FRAUD in Arizona.”
OTHER RECORDS
On April 6, the nonpartisan accountability group Protect Democracy :{sent a letter:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: to Cyber Ninjas and other contractors, demanding that the groups cease any planned direct outreach to voters — including door-knocking and other potentially intimidating actions — that was mentioned in Cyber Ninjas’ statement of work. Fann :{forwarded the letter:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: to Josh Barnett, a candidate for U.S. Congress who has :{posted frequently:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: about :{the Q Anon:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: conspiracy theory. “Now I know they are worried,” Fann wrote.
The next month, Fann shared with Logan, Bennett, and others the Senate’s May 12 :{letter :(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which contained allegations that county officials later :{refuted as:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: being “outrageous” and “completely baseless.” Bennett :{forwarded the Senate’s letter:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: to Kelli Ward, to “audit” consultant John Brakey (:{a Democrat:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}:, who in a :{May interview:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: had told a reporter that auditors were looking for bamboo fibers), and to Bennie Smith, a Democratic elections commissioner from Shelby County, Tenn., who :{visited the operation:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: in May reportedly to “advise.” Smith’s official role is unclear, but he has voiced skepticism about the integrity of voting machines on his social media.
CANVASSING OPERATIONS
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asog ramsland 10K$ fann
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https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20969741-az-sen-21-0468-c#document/p19/a2041364
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paywall
https://www.azcentral.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F2021%2F06%2F07%2Fjan-6-legal-defense-fund-gosar-finchem-kern-raising-money%2F7591753002%2F
https://twitter.com/SecretaryHobbs/status/1385353587123888129
finchem plugs Guardian Defense Fund for 'paying additional money' for audit security. Doesn't mention that he founded Guardian Defense Fund.
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https://bit.ly/2Pc7rru
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https://nationalfile.com/arizona-rep-mark-finchem-launches-guardian-defense-fund-to-fight-against-defamation-big-tech-censorship/ no lnx
Arizona Rep Mark Finchem Launches ‘Guardian Defense Fund’ to Fight Against Defamation, Big Tech Censorship The fund will "defend champions of free and fair elections" and "challenge Big Tech censorship in the courts" by NATIONAL FILE NEWS March 2, 2021 in Big Tech, Election Integrity, News, Politics Arizona Rep Mark Finchem Launches ‘Guardian Defense Fund’ to Fight Against Defamation, Big Tech Censorship
The Guardian Defense Fund, a new organisation set up by Arizona Rep Mark Finchem, will help fight back against the defamation of election integrity champions and Big Tech censorship.
Finchem, an Arizona State Rep, raised over $15,000 to fight back against claims from Arizona Democrats that he, former State Rep Anthony Kern, and Congressmen Biggs and Gosar, incited the “insurrection” on January 6th at Capitol Hill. [RelatedPosts Ex-Dem Congressman Charged In Connection With Fraud Schemes That Netted Over $3 Million Sarah Palin Advances to General Election for Alaska House Seat Rosary Sales Surge After ‘The Atlantic’ Calls Rosary ‘An Extremist Symbol’] However, Finchem isn’t stopping there. With the creation of the Freedom Defense Fund, more legal action will be taken against slanderous accusations of treason and sedition.According to the fund’s website, the lawsuit against Arizona Democrat House Caucus Leader Charlene Fernandez is only the first legal action to be taken, with the Fund wanting to challenge the malice standard set by New York Times v Sullivan, which requires that “a public figure prove actual malice on the part of a person who defames them in the context of filing a false criminal report released to the press when filed”:
[This standard] allows the smearing of those who enter the public arena by the mainstream media as well as political operatives, and often leaves no avenue for a public figure to defend his or her honor. This not only prevents good people from entering politics, it also means that there is no forum in which the actual truth of a matter can be peacefully established, the usual role of the court system… The unforeseen tectonic shift created by the internet and twenty-four-hour cable news programs has so dramatically changed the information landscape that none of the policy considerations undergirding the actual malice standard [from 1964] now exist… The Fund’s legal team considers the ruling has resulted in massive negative societal consequences, and is ripe for reconsideration by the Supreme Court. Speaking to the Epoch Times, Finchem said that there are two key points to the fund itself. The first being to defend “individuals who have been wrongly accused of treason.” Finchem referenced the lawsuit, which contains a quote from Saul Alinsky’s “Rule for Radicals” about isolating people, noting that Marxists work by going after “the people who can’t defend themselves, in order to make them an example”: It’s more important that you isolate somebody who doesn’t have the capacity to protect themselves, the poor guy, the mechanic, the guy like me. They destroyed my business over the past three years as a real-estate agent, so I no longer have a business to lose, which apparently makes me a very dangerous person, so all the things that I stood to lose, are now gone!The second objective of the Guardian Defense Fund, Finchem notes, is to help “correct the behaviour of bad actors, whether they’re in the government or in the political structure.” In the case of the first lawsuit, Finchem argued that “when 100% of the Democrat Caucus in the Arizona Legislature” sign a letter slandering him and others, “they didn’t do that without telling the state party that they were going to do that.”However, the focus of the fund won’t solely be on issues relating to defamation over treason and insurrection. The fund is also considering “a number of cases to challenge Big Tech censorship”:For far too long, Big Tech has hidden behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to censor speech on the basis of content. Big Tech claims that it can violate the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment because they are private companies. However, a number of legitimate arguments against this position have been developed by the Fund’s legal team which will be tested in Court as soon as practicable.“People are seething mad right now because of what they’re seeing, and they’re looking for a point where they can take action,” Finchem said, encouraging people to give a small donation of 10 dollars to the fund. “From that we can build up a war chest, and we can put an end to this absolutely atrocious, abusive behaviour from people who always have a political agenda.”
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ARIZONA Politics | Mary Jo Pitzl / Arizona Republic - Facebook
https://m.facebook.com › groups › ArizonaPolitics › posts
The Guardian Defense Fund was created as a 502 (c)(4) in February 2021 to fund the legal costs of the defamation case brought by Finchem, Gosar and Kern...