Originally published Thursday, April 20, 2023
The Arizona Senate has settled a public records lawsuit with government transparency advocacy group ‘American Oversight’ for over $150,000, according to a Fox News report.
Some documents related to the 2020 election audit are still apparently being withheld.
American Oversight had accused the Senate of withholding emails, texts, and other records related to the audit, which was led by “now defunct” Florida-based firm Cyber Ninjas.
Although the settlement agreement releases both parties from legal claims and does not indicate any wrongdoing, some documents are still being held by the Senate under the justification of legislative privilege, according to Fox.
Lawyers for The Arizona Republic have argued that some of the documents being withheld by the Senate should still be made publicly available.
However, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in August that emails and other documented communications related to the audit were privileged, and therefore not subject to public release.
The Senate initiated the audit in 2021 after then-President Donald Trump claimed that the election was rigged and marred by widespread fraud.
American Oversight filed its lawsuit shortly after, arguing that the Senate was unlawfully withholding documents related to the audit.
While the Senate has released over 20,000 records related to the audit, the fact that some documents are still being withheld raises questions about the transparency and integrity of the election audit process.
In the absence of full transparency and disclosure, it remains unclear what the withheld documents may contain and what impact they may have on public perception of the election audit.
