Special counsel subpoenas Arizona secretary of state office in Jan. 6 probe
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Special Counsel Jack Smith speaking in the Department of Justice in June 2023. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the Arizona secretary of state's office recently over his investigation into former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election leading up to the Capitol insurrection, a spokesperson for the office told Axios Wednesday.
Why it matters: Arizona, which President Biden won by some 10,000 votes, was a focal point of the Trump campaign and its Republican allies, who filed multiple lawsuits against the state or its counties alleging voting errors and fraud.
- Those lawsuits were overwhelmingly denied or abandoned.
Driving the news: The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Trump in late 2020 attempted to pressure then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to overturn the state’s presidential election results by finding fraudulent votes.
- Trump also reportedly asked Vice President Mike Pence to call Ducey and convince him to find evidence of Trump’s claims of voter fraud.
What they're saying: Paul Smith-Leonard, a spokesperson for Arizona Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, said the office had received two subpoenas from Smith in recent months — one during the current administration and one in the previous, when Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) held the office.
- He said the office complied with the subpoena it received during the current administration through its outside counsel, the law firm Coppersmith Brockelman.
The big picture: The subpoenas sought information regarding lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and former Arizona Republican Party chair that contested the state's election results, according to the the Arizona Republic.
- Other Arizona officials have said they faced pressure from the Trump campaign and its legal team to support efforts to subvert the election.
- Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers told congressional investigators last year that Trump and his allies, including Rudy Giuliani, attempted to persuade him to decertify Arizona's electoral votes for Biden and to replace them with Trump electors.
- Smith is also investigating Trump's handling of classified documents after he left the White House.
- A grand jury indicted Trump with over a dozen federal charges related to retaining classified information and obstruction of justice last month. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Go deeper: Trump's shifting public defenses in classified documents case
