The prospect that a group tied to White House adviser Stephen Miller may be working behind the scenes to meddle in the upcoming election has become so alarming that an Arizona county attorney, who endorsed Donald Trump for president, has asked a court to intervene.
According to MS NOW reporting by Ja'han Jones, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell—who gained national prominence questioning Christine Blasey Ford during Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing—is leading the charge against America First Legal's influence over the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, which administers elections.
Recorder Justin Heap, who has previously encouraged the Trump administration's attempts to seize sensitive Arizona voter data, has allegedly allowed America First Legal to exercise sweeping authority over his office. This comes as Trump has openly called for Republicans to "take over the voting" in major cities, including Phoenix.
In a June 8 legal filing, Mitchell's lawyers asked Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney to rein in America First Legal, describing the group's actions as an "unprecedented power grab."
"The Recorder lacks any explicit or implicit statutory authority to hire outside counsel—let alone a partisan organization—to serve as in-house counsel on 'all' matters under his 'purview,'" Mitchell's lawyers wrote, according to the Arizona Republic.
According to Jones, America First Legal is advising Heap's office as he battles the Republican-controlled Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in a dispute over official powers. According to Democracy Docket, the conflict escalated when Heap allegedly seized election equipment and provisional ballot envelopes while votes were being cast in a March local election, prompting county supervisors to warn of "grave chain-of-custody concerns."
Mitchell's legal team identified six examples of America First Legal exceeding its intended scope, according to Arizona Republic reporting. The group has claimed authority over all early voting matters, directed election officials to disregard directives from Mitchell's office, threatened prosecution over drop boxes, and sent warning letters signaling new litigation against the board.
According to Jones, "The fact that even conservative officials are sounding the alarm here shows how extreme, unprecedented and potentially threatening to democracy this situation could prove to be."