This week it was revealed that special counsel Jack Smith expanded his Trump probe to Arizona by sending two subpoenas to the Arizona Secretary of State requesting information about 2020 election lawsuits filed by Republicans.
Smith, who so far has brought 37 charges against former President Donald Trump, issued two subpoenas requesting documents from one election lawsuit brought by Trump’s campaign, and a second by former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes confirmed yesterday that both requests were met by an outside law firm according to NBC News, which reported that “Smith sought documents related to communications with opposing attorneys, discovery and proposed exhibits” in the subpoenas. It’s unclear when the outside law firm, Coppersmith Brockelman PLC, responded to the subpoenas, but they were acknowledged for the first time this week.
Smith’s first subpoena was seemingly issued under the watch of Governor Katie Hobbs, who was formerly Arizona’s Secretary of State, and the second came under Fontes’ watch in May.
The revelation regarding Smith’s activity in Arizona came the same day former State Representative Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa) told CNN that he interviewed with the FBI for several hours.
“I’m hesitant to talk about any subpoenas et cetera, but I have been interviewed by the FBI,” Bowers told CNN host Kaitlan Collins, noting that the interview lasted “four hours” and was “very professional.”
Bowers also told Collins that Smith’s investigators had a deep understanding “of all of the testimony that I’ve given and all of the interviews that I’ve given to the Arizona Republic and people from the Washington Post” and were “very aware of the January 6 committee testimony that I gave.”
Regarding Smith’s ongoing Probe into the former president, Bowers suggested it was “broad” in scope and could envelop Trump’s legal team from 2020.
Breaking: Rusty Bowers reveals he has spoken with investigators about Trump’s pressure campaign on him and his allies efforts to overturn election results in AZ. pic.twitter.com/N95Knm0Phn
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 6, 2023
“There’s a lot of information about attorneys that worked with them, about Mr. Giuliani that made the calls and visited us, and other members of his team, who they were, when the meetings were,” Bowers explained. “I presume that all of them are involved.”
Bowers served as the Arizona Speaker of the House until 2023, having won re-election with Trump’s support. Term-limited out of the Arizona House in 2022, Bowers then ran for the Arizona Senate against State Senator David Farnsworth (R-Mesa). He lost the primary by about 30 points.
Prior to losing his election, Bowers was censured by the Arizona Republican Party, which declared him “unfit to serve the platform of the Republican Party and will of the voter of the Republican Party of Arizona.” He was also accused of “playing games” with election integrity bills by State Representative Jake Hoffman, who last year told The Arizona Sun Times that Bowers’ leadership had “systemically failed” in the House.
After losing his election, Bowers criticized his former Republican constituents as “fascists” in a statement to the press, prompting another round of rebukes from Arizona Republicans.
These revelations led some national media to declare Arizona is now “a central focus” for Smith and the Department of Justice as criminal cases against Trump advance.
Ward declined to give a comment when asked by The Sun Times.
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Tom Pappert is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
