Fake elector probe in Arizona has key Trump ally in crosshairs: report

A key Donald Trump ally in Arizona is feeling the heat as the state's criminal probe into a plot to overturn its 2020 election results kicks into high gear, Rolling Stone reports.

The Grand Canyon State's former GOP chair Kelli Ward is at the center of the investigation into fake electors that “was a core component of the then-president and his aligned lawyers’ plans to overturn his 2020 election defeat and stop the legitimate transfer of power to his Democratic successor Joe Biden," the report said.

Ward is described in the House Jan. 6 committee report as being “unusually active” in promoting Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election, the report said, noting that she was in contact with the former president and was involved in a “pressure campaign” to halt the counting of votes and pause certification of the election.

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Ward and her husband, Michael, along with nine other Arizona Republicans “signed a document falsely attesting that they were the state’s legitimate electors casting Arizona’s Electoral College votes for Trump,” the report said.

Rolling Stone reported that, “Investigators have started asking questions about any potential contacts between false electors such as Ward, then-President Trump, and other out-of-state officials and lawyers working on his behalf to steal the election, one of the sources tells Rolling Stone. In recent discussions with possible witnesses and others, some investigators have asked or requested information related to a video — tweeted by the Arizona GOP in December 2020 — where Ward and other Trump allies sign documents falsely claiming to be the state’s legitimate electors.”

A person familiar with the extent to which the investigation has advanced told Rolling Stone:

“They actually have themselves on video doing it,” the person said.

“It is as if Ward and everyone else were thinking: How do we make this a walk in the park for [the prosecutors]?”

Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed the probe in public comments Wednesday, according to the report.

“We are investigating the fake electors situation. I understand why folks want to know what is happening in our investigation. That is a natural desire given what just happened in Georgia and in Michigan,” Mayes said. “But we are doing a thorough and professional investigation and we’re going to do it on our timetable as justice demands.”

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