Cyber Ninjas Emails Show Further Links Between Arizona ‘Audit’ and Wisconsin Election Investigation

On Thursday, the Arizona Senate released another set of records related to its partisan election “audit.” The documents, which had been previously held by lead contractor Cyber Ninjas, were produced in response to our ongoing litigation and reveal further evidence of the review’s high costs and its links to partisan investigations in other states.

On Oct. 1, 2021 — the same day Michael Gableman issued subpoenas for election materials in Wisconsin — Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan sent One America News host Christina Bobb copies of Arizona “audit” subpoenas, writing, “In case this helps you with anything in [Wisconsin] coming up.” His email also includes messaging language and details about the Arizona ballot review that he had written in response to a reporter’s article about the review.

While it’s unclear what Logan intended with his email, it appears to have been sent shortly after Gableman — the lawyer leading the Wisconsin Assembly’s election investigation — issued his initial subpoenas to local elections officials. Gableman sent out another round of subpoenas a few days later. 

American Oversight has previously obtained records of email and text message exchanges from early August between Gableman and Arizona “audit” leaders. On Aug. 1, Gableman emailed Arizona Senate President Karen Fann asking about the “process implemented in Arizona and any lessons learned,” writing that he was “in the early stages of designing” the Assembly’s review. Earlier, conservative Wisconsin lawmakers had visited the Arizona election “audit” with the goal of replicating it in their state; Gableman visited Arizona later that month. 

American Oversight previously obtained records indicating that Bobb was the person who first put Fann in touch with Gableman. Bobb communicated regularly with Senate leaders, inaccurately reported on the “audit,” and fundraised for the effort through her nonprofit Voices and Votes. She often served as a conduit between Arizona officials and people associated with the Trump campaign, in particular lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as revealed in other documents we have obtained.

The records released Thursday also contain an email indicating that in June 2021 — in the midst of the “audit” — Logan and Cyber Ninjas got a price quote of $13,400 for the production of 2,500 commemorative “challenge coins.” Records previously obtained by American Oversight have detailed Cyber Ninjas’ large expenditures and the high costs associated with the election review. In January, Logan said that Cyber Ninjas had shut down and laid off its employees, partly as a result of debt from the “audit.”

It’s been one year since American Oversight filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Senate for the release of public records related to the sham election review in Maricopa County. More information about our investigation can be found here, and all filings related to the lawsuit can be found here.