Maricopa County officials confirmed Tuesday that they had received a subpoena for communications with former President Donald Trump, his staffers and his allies.
Similar requests were sent to local officials in three other key battleground states that Trump lost in 2020. They are the first known requests in the probe by special counsel Jack Smith, picked by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents at his Florida home.
In Maricopa County, the subpoena comes 17 months after The Republic first reported that Trump and his allies made calls to pressure county supervisors into changing the results of the election that he narrowly lost to Joe Biden in Arizona.
County spokesperson Fields Mosely said Tuesday that officials received the subpoena and “will comply.”
Officials in Milwaukee and Dane counties in Wisconsin; Wayne County, Michigan; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania also received subpoenas, according to the Associated Press.
Trump’s pressure campaign
Former Supervisor Steve Chucri, a Republican, was the first Maricopa County official to have contact with Trump and his allies, according to The Republic’s investigation.
Chucri said he met with Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, at the state Capitol in November 2020. It was around the time Chucri publicly said he’d support a third-party audit of the county’s tabulation machines to address concerns around the election.
“I see we’re gonna get a chance to take a good look at those machines. And we’ve got people that are ready to come out right now. Let’s get it done quickly. And at least get some preliminary stuff done right away,” Giuliani said in a voicemail left with Chucri shortly after the meeting. “So give me a call as soon as you get a chance. The president also wanted me to pass on a few things to you, too.”
Later, Giuliani tried to call the other Republicans on the county Board of Supervisors: Bill Gates, Jack Sellers and Clint Hickman.
“If you get a chance, would you please give me a call,” Giuliani said in a voicemail to Gates left on Christmas Eve. “I have a few things I’d like to talk over with you. Maybe we can get this thing fixed up. You know, I really think it’s a shame that Republicans sort of are both in this kind of situation. And I think there may be a nice way to resolve this for everybody.”
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At the time, Hickman chaired the board, and Trump himself twice tried to call him. Hickman said Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward advised him to expect outreach from Trump.
He let the calls go to voicemail.
“Hello, sir. This is the White House operator I was calling to let you know that the president’s available to take your call if you’re free,” one message said. “If you could please give us a call back, sir, that’d be great. You have a good evening.”
Hickman never called back.
A county under scrutiny
Ultimately, the county board certified the election results.
Since then, supervisors and other county officials have seen a Republican state Senate-ordered hand count of ballots that affirmed Biden’s win, endured a deluge of threats and repeatedly said the 2020 election was fair, accurate and secure.
The situation has intensified since the most recent election, with conservative candidates and personalities launching challenges and criticism at Maricopa County before, during and after Election Day.
Already, officials have received a letter from the Arizona Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit, a subpoena from outgoing GOP Sen. Kelly Townsend and a letter from Ward demanding answers about the Nov. 8 election, which saw issues with on-site printers at county polling sites.
Gates, the current chairman of the county board, was forced to hole up for a night with his family in an undisclosed location because of security concerns after the election. The chair of the Maricopa County Republican Committee refused to sign off on post-election voting equipment accuracy tests. And last week, a four-hour meeting packed with conspiracy allegations, outbursts and threats was capped off by a unanimous vote by the supervisors to certify the results of the 2022 general election.
Over a few hours, speakers took turns calling county leaders “political hacks,” “clowns,” “traitors” and “vote traffickers.” They lambasted officials with unproven claims about a rigged election and asked them to refuse to certify the election tallies — all familiar claims for the board.
In the wake of the state’s election certification on Monday, several new election challenges were expected from Republican candidates this week.
Sasha Hupka covers Maricopa County and regional issues for The Arizona Republic with a focus on voting and democracy. Do you have a tip about elections or a question about voting? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SashaHupka.