An observer observes how contractors working at Cyber Ninjas, who was hired by the Arizona State Senate, examined and recounted the 2020 general election ballots at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 8, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Courtney Pedroza | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Cyber Ninjas, the private company that leads a partisan and much-criticized audit of millions of votes cast in Arizona during the 2020 election, has refused to complete a Congressional poll on the company, House Democrats said. .
In a letter dated Sunday to Cyber Ninjas CEO Douglas Logan, Democrats said they “will be forced to consider other measures to get compliance” if the company “continues to hinder” its investigation.
The announcement came as the Florida-based company, which had no experience in previous election audits and whose owner had tweeted support for pro-Trump election conspiracies, had to deliver a report on its findings to Republicans. ‘Arizona they commissioned it. Several pro-Trump dark money groups raised millions of dollars to fund the audit.
Democrats, including Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, have denounced Senate Republicans for adopting false conspiracy theories about rigged elections, which former President Donald Trump frequently spread before and after his loss. against President Joe Biden.
But election experts have also said the results of the audit should not be relied on, citing a number of concerns about investigators ’methods and motivations.
In mid-July, House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney, DN.Y., and civil rights subcommittee chair Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Told Logan that they had sought records as part of ‘a review of whether his company’s shares are intended to “reverse the outcome of free and fair elections for partisan gains.”
They requested these documents, which included information about who pays for the effort, before July 28th.
But after receiving an extension to file the material on Aug. 9, Cyber Ninjas “sent a letter objecting to the Committee’s nine requests,” Maloney and Raskin said in Monday’s letter.
“Cyber Ninjas was unable to produce key documents that responded to the Committee’s requests,” they said, including their communications with Trump, the Arizona State Senate, and “the dark money support groups that funded this audit “.
A contractor working at Cyber Ninjas, who was hired by the Arizona State Senate, is transporting ballots from the 2020 general election to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 1, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Courtney Pedroza | Getty Images
The company objected to lawmakers’ requests being “vague,” “ill-defined” or “too heavy.” But Democrats said none of those objections provided “a legitimate justification for obstructing the Committee’s investigation.”
Maloney and Raskin also responded to Cyber Ninjas’ repeated claims that the documents are protected by attorney-client privilege, calling those claims “obvious” and “based on a fundamental misunderstanding by Congressional authorities.”
Cyber Ninjas did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the letter.
Arizona County officials who conducted audits in the days following the Nov. 3 election found no discrepancies or irregularities in numerous counties.
But in March, Arizona Senate Republicans hired Cyber Ninjas and two other companies to conduct their own audit of the 2.1 million votes cast in Maricopa County, saying the additional analysis “would validate all areas of the voting process to ensure the integrity of the vote “.
Biden defeated Trump by more than 45,000 votes in Maricopa, the most populous county in the state. Biden defeated Trump in the overall state by about 10,000 votes.
Democrats told Logan they would grant Cyber Ninjas an additional extension, giving them until Aug. 27 to voluntarily share the requested documents.
“If your company, which seeks to act lawfully in the public interest, continues to obstruct the Committee’s investigation, the Committee will be forced to consider other steps to obtain compliance,” the letter said.