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US House Oversight Committee launching investigation into lead contractor's role in Arizona's election audit

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform requested numerous documents from auditor Cyber Ninjas by July 28.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.

Members from a U.S. House of Representatives committee are requesting information and documents from the firm overseeing the Arizona GOP's recount of the 2020 presidential election.

The members from the house's Committee on Oversight and Reform requested in a letter to the firm, Florida-based cyber-security company Cyber Ninjas, multiple documents, including information regarding audit funding, procedures, allegations, training materials, and communications between former President Donald Trump and his associates.

RELATED: 'Stop the counting': Records show Trump and allies pressured top Maricopa County officials over election results

The committee members said we're "concerned about your company’s role in this highly unusual effort" for multiple reasons, including:

  • Cyber Ninjas' lack of experience in conducting election-related audits
  • Reports of Cyber Ninjas engaging in sloppy and insecure audit practices that compromised the integrity of ballots and voting equipment
  • Evidence that Cyber Ninjas CEO Douglas Logan and other individuals funding the audit have sought to advance the "big lie" of debunked voter fraud allegations in the last presidential election

RELATED: Hobbs urges Arizona's attorney general to investigate alleged election interference by Trump, allies

"I was glad to see that they requested that information and it will be interesting to see if they are responsive to the request," said Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. "Voters in Maricopa County, Arizona and the rest of the country are watching what is happening here and are concerned about how this audit is allowed to continue." 

"The Committee is seeking to determine whether the privately funded audit conducted by your company in Arizona protects the right to vote or is instead an effort to promote baseless conspiracy theories, undermine confidence in America’s elections, and reverse the result of a free and fair election for partisan gain," the committee's letter said.

The members requested the information from Logan to be delivered to them by July 28. 

The request comes as the election review continued its recount with a machine-processed ballot count on July 13, a measure conducted in addition to the eight-week-long hand recount of the votes cast for president and the U.S. Senate.

RELATED: What we know about Arizona Senate GOP's second recount of 2020 ballots

Read the full Committee on Oversight and Reform's letter here:

Arizona Senate Republican Karen Fann held a briefing with Logan, Senate Liaison Ken Bennett and CyFIR CEO Ben Cotton to discuss the audit's findings. 

After two hours, the speakers failed to provide an updated timeline for the audit's completion or how many ballots have actually been counted. They also failed to discuss potential costs for Arizona taxpayers. 

While Logan testified ballots have been tallied, he told Fann and Senate Republican Warren Petersen data is still being worked through. 

“This isn’t about finding the truth, this is about continuing the big lie,” said Maricopa County Board of Supervisor Steve Gallardo. "We just saw a two-hour hearing of unfounded statements and conspiracies. If there is wrongdoing and fraud, show it, prove it, or shut up.”

Logan also discussed why there has been a delay in the audit's hand count citing "kinematic artifact detection" a nod to "sharpie-gate" by placing ballots under a microscope in order to see discrepancies, the practice deemed unreliable by most experts. 

The Maricopa County Twitter handle immediately responded to the claim. 

"Did he just say kinematic artifact detection with a straight face?" 

Logan said KAD revealed ballot sheets were printed out-of-line which could result in ink bleeding into other ballots. 

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers released a statement following the briefing that "it's clear the people hired by Arizona Senate leadership to supposedly bring integrity to our elections are instead just bringing incompetence." 

Former President Donald Trump also released a statement following the briefing and called for the decertification of the vote. 

Petersen concluded the briefing by calling into question if the final audit report will be incomplete. Secretary Hobbs said the audit has demonstrated Cyber Ninjas' failures and both Arizonans and the rest of the country should remain skeptical. 

“This is not an exercise to verify or validate the election results or provide election integrity. It's to sow doubt about the results of the 2020 election and carry it into the next cycle,”  

Arizona Audit News

See the most recent news from Arizona's election audit on our 12 News YouTube playlist here.

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