Feds Launch Probe Of Republican Election ‘Audit’ In New Mexico

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The buffoon squad is at it again — in Otero County, New Mexico, where Donald Trump was victorious in the 2020 presidential election, county commissioners have apparently spent $50,000 on a sham 2020 election audit conducted by private individuals who don’t appear to know what they’re doing. The so-called audit has included door-to-door visits from workers participating in what has been billed as an effort to confirm both the information on voter rolls and the results of the 2020 elections. (It’s going to be 2030, and Trump supporters are still going to be complaining about the 2020 presidential race, aren’t they?) Now, the House Oversight Committee is investigating the Otero audit over issues including possible violations of federal laws against voter intimidation.

The Otero County Commission hired a company called EchoMail to lead the so-called audit, and as summarized by Source NM, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) are after “all communication materials… the canvass questionnaire, payment and funding information, a list of funders, subcontract agreements, and details about who has interest in and control of the company.” (The “questionnaire” refers to what questions are asked of voters met at their doors in the county as part of the audit.) Maloney and Raskin wrote to EchoMail CEO Shiva Ayyadurai — who was involved in the sham election audit that took place in Maricopa County, Arizona — as follows:

‘Your company’s proven lack of knowledge about the details of election administration, your personal advocacy of election conspiracy theories, and your partnership with a conspiracist volunteer group to canvass voters raise serious concerns that your actions will damage election integrity in Otero County and beyond, including by intimidating voters in violation of federal law.’

The New Mexico Secretary of State and Attorney General’s offices both expressed support for the Congressional probe into this matter — the dozens of people going door-to-door as part of the so-called audit apparently hadn’t even been subjected to background checks, and it remains unclear where the so-called auditors got data on local voters they’re using. State Auditor Brian Colón also shared support for the oversight panel’s investigation, commenting that the “Otero County Commission appears to have entered a contract that is a waste of taxpayer dollars… They did so in a manner that may have been an abuse of power, and despite warnings of their own counsel.”

One of the county commissioners is Couy Griffin — a founder of the right-wing group known as Cowboys for Trump who went on to participate in last year’s Capitol riot and will soon go to trial. As explained by the Associated Press, “Prosecutors have submitted a variety of images that show Griffin breaching barricades on the day of the 2021 insurrection — climbing a toppled fence and another barrier to access the Capitol steps.” These people — for some reason — consistently act as though they’re somehow better than the law. At the first trial involving a riot participant (many others had opted to plead guilty), federal prosecutors recently scored convictions on all counts the defendant was facing.