Arizona Secretary of State's Office subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Jan. 6 inquiry

U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the Arizona Secretary of State's Office as recently as May as part of his investigation into the events leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Smith's office also talked to GOP lawmakers in the spring about events in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

The inquiries highlight the key role Arizona played in the 2020 presidential election, where Joe Biden edged out Trump by 10,457 votes — the narrowest margin in the nation. The election has drawn ongoing scrutiny since the polls closed in November 2020, extending to a contentious state Senate review of Maricopa County's presidential ballots and numerous lawsuits.

The subpoenas to the Secretary of State's Office were not previously publicly known. They sought information related to two lawsuits, one from Trump's campaign and another from former Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward, that alleged errors and fraud in the 2020 presidential results.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said the law firm of Coppersmith Brockelman, the outside counsel which represents the office, complied with the requests.

Despite Smith's subpoenas to the secretary of state and lawmakers, the special counsel apparently has not reached out to former Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who played a pivotal role in certifying that Joe Biden won the presidential race in Arizona.

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Ducey, talking to an unnamed donor earlier this year, marveled that Smith or his investigators had not contacted him, the Washington Post reported. Ducey famously silenced a call from Trump that rang on his cellphone as the governor was certifying the 2020 election results.

The former governor did not directly reply to a query about whether he has since heard from the special counsel's office. His spokesman, Daniel Scarpinato, instead released a statement saying reports that then-President Trump tried to pressure Ducey to overturn Arizona's election results was old news.

“This is nothing more than a ‘copy and paste’ of a compilation of articles from the past two years," Scarpinato said in a statement responding to the Post's story and sent to The Republic in response to an inquiry about the report.

"Frankly, nothing here is new nor is it news to anyone following this issue since 2020. Gov. Ducey defended the results of Arizona’s 2020 election, he certified the election, and he made it clear that the certification provided a trigger for credible complaints backed by evidence to be brought forward. None were ever brought forward.

"The governor stands by his action to certify the election and considers the issue to be in the rear view mirror — it’s time to move on.”

But federal investigators have not moved on from the election, where resistance to the outcome led to protests culminating in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

In Georgia, which had the second-closest margin of victory for Biden, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has met with federal investigators about Trump's call demanding he “find 11,780 votes" to reverse the election's outcome.

The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has spent more than two years investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election.

'We need you to stop the counting': Records detail intense efforts by Trump allies to pressure Maricopa County supervisors

Pence: No pressure from Trump about Arizona

On CBS' "Face the Nation" last weekend, former Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that Trump asked him to talk to Ducey about the election results, but said he had no pressure from the president to find evidence that Trump actually won the Arizona vote.

It is unclear why Smith has not contacted Ducey, if indeed he has not. His staff has sought records and interviews from other Arizonans involved in the election's contentious aftermath.

In May, the special counsel's office sought documents from the Secretary of State's Office related to discovery, proposed exhibits and communications with opposing attorneys related to two election-related lawsuits.

One case, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Hobbs, argued several voters wrongly had their ballots tossed because they overvoted, or voted twice in a race with only one choice. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissed the complaint, noting there were not enough ballots in question to alter the outcome of the election.

The second case, Ward v. Jackson, was filed by Kelli Ward, then the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party. It argued Maricopa County election workers weren't qualified to verify signatures on mail-in ballots and that poll observers weren't present when damaged ballots were replicated.

2020 election: Kelli Ward, Charlie Kirk had little to say to Jan. 6 investigators about their efforts

The court found no evidence of fraud and dismissed the case, which was appealed to the state Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court without success.

Although the two cases listed in the subpoena involved Maricopa County proceedings, the county attorney's civil division chief, Tom Liddy, said Monday that he was unaware of any recent requests from the special counsel. The county previously was subpoenaed for records pertaining to correspondence with Trump, Liddy said.

A 'check-the-box' interview with investigators

Several state lawmakers received subpoenas in February from the special counsel's office, also seeking information about events in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

House Speaker Ben Toma said he sat for a several-hours-long interview in Phoenix with one investigator and two FBI agents in March.

“They had lots of questions about what happened, who I talked to and so on," said Toma, a Glendale Republican who at the time was the incoming majority leader.

Toma said it was a friendly interview, which he characterized as a "check the box" kind of interaction. He added that he doesn't think he was of much help, since none of the "powers that be" tried to contact him to undo the election results.

Those requests fell on former House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who was facing pressure from Trump allies as well as from some members of the GOP caucus to do something to reject the election results. Bowers rebuffed the requests, saying he never was provided any proof of wrongdoing.

It is unclear if Bowers was subpoenaed by the special counsel; when asked about it in February he said he was advised to not comment. On Wednesday, Bowers said the FBI interviewed him in March.

"It was nothing new," Bowers, a Mesa Republican, said of the topics discussed. Much of it repeated what he told the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection as well as events that were widely chronicled, including in Arizona Republic stories.

He said the March interview was the last time he spoke to the FBI.

Origins of the Arizona election review: White House phone calls, baseless fraud charges

Senators, supervisor also queried

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, as well as two Senate colleagues also received subpoenas in February. The Senate ordered a review of Maricopa County ballots in the presidential and U.S. Senate races in 2021.

Petersen, in a text message, said he complied with a request to disclose communications with a list of Trump allies, of which he recognized only one: Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. He said he didn't sit for an interview.

Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, and former Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, also received subpoenas, but have not responded to requests for comment about their responses.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman said representatives of the Department of Justice interviewed him late last year and he has not heard anything since. Hickman, along with the other four supervisors, received heavy criticism from Trump supporters for defending how Maricopa County conducted the election.

Hickman was the target of a death threat from a Trump supporter in Iowa. In April, that man pleaded guilty to federal charges of threatening an election official.

A year ago, the FBI subpoenaed Karen Fann, then the state Senate president, and Kelly Townsend, for any communications or records they had concerning Trump's efforts to nullify the 2020 election results. Both women said they complied with the request.

On Monday, Townsend said the questions in her FBI interview were focused solely on which Trump lawyers she and other legislators spoke with.

Arizona Republic reporters Robert Anglen and Sasha Hupka contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Special counsel Jack Smith issued subpoenas to AZ secretary of state