Judge Orders ‘Cyber Ninjas’ CEO To Be Deposed Over Arizona ‘Audit’

0
1132

An Arizona judge has ordered Doug Logan — the CEO of the company known as Cyber Ninjas, which helped lead last year’s infamous GOP-led state Senate-backed audit of Maricopa County, Arizona’s election results — has been ordered to sit for a deposition, which is set to be conducted by the government watchdog group known as American Oversight. Failing to appear for the deposition could lead to punishments including a civil arrest warrant. American Oversight has been pushing in court for the release of records tied to the audit, arguing that materials possessed by Cyber Ninjas in connection to the audit are subject to legal requirements in Arizona for the release of public records.

Arizona courts have backed up American Oversight’s position on this matter; as the organization explains, “Arizona courts have repeatedly ruled that relevant documents in the custody of Cyber Ninjas are public records that must be turned over to the Senate for release under the state’s open records law.” Logan, though, is apparently shutting down Cyber Ninjas, and he told state Senate President Sen. Karen Fann (R) that he’d “end up defaulting on the public records cases,” all of which adds urgency to American Oversight’s efforts. Its questions, American Oversight says, will relate to “the company’s failure to turn over documents related to the Arizona Senate’s partisan election review.”

Melanie Sloan, American Oversight’s senior adviser, commented as follows this week:

‘As much as he might like to walk away from the dumpster fire he helped create, Doug Logan is not above the law. We look forward to deposing him on [January] 27th, and if it takes an arrest warrant to ensure the public gets the full story of the ‘audit,’ then so be it.’

The Maricopa County audit in which Cyber Ninjas was involved proceeded despite the fact that reviews of the electoral process conducted by actually credible authorities had already concluded that there was no evidence of systematic integrity issues. Prior to the Arizona operation, Cyber Ninjas didn’t even have any experience in election auditing, and concerns about the levels of basic competency underlying their actions persisted throughout the ordeal. At one point, a report from observers associated with the office of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) recapped issues like a document that was identified as confidential getting left unattended, an external security gate being left open, and more. More broadly, local authorities in Maricopa County had to spend millions of dollars on updating some elections equipment after those associated with the audit took possession of it and left state authorities with worries about certain items’ integrity.