Arizona's fake electors will finally answer to a real prosecutor

The arrogance of the fake electors in Arizona who tried to pawn themselves off as legitimate in order to give Joe Biden’s electoral college votes to Donald Trump is best seen in an email to a Trump adviser from Arizona attorney Jack Wilenchik.

Former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward and her merry band of operatives were trying to overturn the will of Arizona voters when Wilenchik wrote to Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, “We (Arizona Republicans) would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence so that ‘someone’ in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes, and start arguing that the ‘fake’ votes should be counted.”

Later, Wilenchik sent a follow-up email saying, “‘alternative’ votes is probably a better term than ‘fake’ votes,” followed by a smiley face emoji.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes may do something her predecessor Mark Brnovich was unwilling to do … wipe that smiley face grin off their faces.

Mayes will do what Brnovich would not

“We are planning to reach out to federal officials on that matter,” Mayes said told The Guardian. “Beyond that, I’m not going to comment on it.”

It’s about damn time.

Last year:AG's Office sought case against fake electors

Special counsel Jack Smith, on the federal level, may at some point hold Trump accountable for what the Jan. 6 committee described as “influencing or impeding an official proceeding of the US government”, “conspiring to defraud the US”, “unlawfully, knowingly or willingly making false statements to the federal government” and “assisting or engaging in insurrection against the United States.”

Smith, appointed by the attorney general to oversee the criminal investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection, has subpoenaed officials in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin for communications with Trump, his campaign and his allies in the days following Jan. 6.

Among those receiving subpoenaes are current Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, Sen. Sonny Borrelli and House Speaker Ben Toma, along with former state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita.

How to prevent what almost happened here

Smith’s investigation is important.

But it’s important as well for Arizona’s top prosecutor to look into what happened here. And what almost happened here.

At the same time Ward and the other Trump minions were whining about nonexistent voter fraud, spouting wild conspiracy theories and claiming that the election had been stolen, the GOP’s fake electors in Arizona were trying to pull off the biggest vote heist in state history.

When investigators from Mayes’ office “reach out” on that matter, I hope they’re holding handcuffs.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's fake electors finally face a real prosecutor