'Harmful to democracy': Arizona governor demands probe into prosecutor who withheld election fraud report

Adam Nichols
February 25, 2023

Attorney General of Arizona Mark Brnovich speaking at the 2019 Inauguration of Governor Doug Ducey. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)


Arizona's former GOP Attorney General Mark Brnovich is facing an investigation into "likely unethical behavior" after he withheld his own staff's findings that refuted claims of fraud in the 2020 election, the Washington Post reported.

A letter sent to the State Bar of Arizona by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs called Brnovich's actions “harmful to our democracy, our State, and the legal profession itself.”

Brnovich quickly issued a statement saying, “Katie Hobbs is wrong. This is another misguided attempt by her to defame and cancel a political opponent instead of addressing the serious issues facing our state," the Post reported.

“While subjected to severe criticism from all sides of the political spectrum during the course of our investigations, we did our due diligence to run all complaints to ground. Where we were able to debunk rumors and conspiracies, we did so. Nevertheless, we also identified areas we believe the legislature and county officials should address to ensure confidence in future elections.”

Hobbs' request is one of at least eight complaints received against Brnovich involving his investigation of the 2020 election, a State Bar Association spokesperson told the Post. The association has the power to disbar lawyers.

On Wednesday, the Post first reported that Brnovich's successor, Democrat Kris Mayes, disclosed documents detailing the office's investigation into why then-President Donald Trump lost the election. The probe took more than 10,000 hours of his staff's time, the Post said.

"Investigators prepared a report in March 2022 stating that virtually all claims of error and malfeasance were unfounded, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Brnovich, a Republican, kept it private," the Post said.