Arizona Senate President Karen Fann's failings are worse than the woeful Cyber Ninjas'

The colossal incompetence of the Cyber Ninjas and their sham election audit cannot be overstated.

However, what is being colossally understated is the incompetence of the person who hired them, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, and the Republicans who supported her.

Last week, Maricopa Superior Court Judge John Hannah said he will fine the Cyber Ninjas, the contractor that led the disgraced and debunked Republican election review, $50,000 a day if the firm doesn’t immediately turn over emails, texts and other communications related to the ballot review. The Arizona Republic has sued for release of the documents under public records law.

Cyber Ninjas did not act 'in good faith,' judge says

Also last week the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors released a 93-page response to the Ninjas’ joke of a report in which the incompetent auditors’ erroneous conclusions, amateurish procedures and fatuous insinuations are unmasked point by point. You can read the report at JustTheFacts.vote.

Judge Hannah had previously ordered release of the public documents and said of the Ninjas, “It is lucidly clear on this record that Cyber Ninjas has disregarded that order. I don’t think I have to find Cyber Ninjas is not acting in good faith. All I have to do is find they are not complying, and their noncompliance is not based on good faith and reasonable interpretation of the order. I think the variety of creative positions Cyber Ninjas has taken to avoid compliance with this order speaks for itself.”

A few days earlier, the Arizona Court of Appeals awarded The Republic more than $31,000 in legal fees to be paid by Cyber Ninjas following Cyber Ninjas’ failed appeal of the lower court decision.

County will not remain silent 'in the face of lies'

Meantime, the Republican chairman of the county supervisors, Bill Gates, in an essay for The Republic, said, “The attempt to undermine democratic elections puts at risk everything else we take for granted in a free country – speech, security, economic progress. And that’s why Maricopa County has not been silent – and will not be silent – in the face of lies. The Cyber Ninjas claimed there were more than 53,000 questionable ballots cast in 2020. Our analysis found less than 100 out of 2.1 million with no systemic issues identified and no impact on the outcome of races.”

All this after the Ninjas – bolstered by the support of Arizona’s Republican lawmakers – were able to convince gullible sycophants of former President Donald Trump to donate nearly $6 million to their joke of an endeavor. Not only that, but a September report by The Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl said that taxpayers – you – have footed nearly $425,000 for the costs of the audit with thousands of dollars more in bills to come.

If Fann is not incompetent, it's something worse

Now, the CEO of the Ninjas, Doug Logan, says that his company has closed shop and he has laid off its employees.

It’s a disaster, and the debunked conspiracy myths about election fraud are continuing to be spread by Republicans, mostly to get those gullible Trump believers to send more wasted donations. It’s a shameless sham on top of a sham.

And it all could have been avoided if Senate President Fann simply had hired a qualified audit firm to do an honest job.

The Cyber Ninjas are a joke.

But in giving them the job, Fann displayed an unparalleled level of incompetence.

And if it’s not incompetence, it’s even worse.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Karen Fann's failings are worse than the woeful Cyber Ninjas'