EDITOR NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect Bennett’s announcement Wednesday that he has arranged with Senate President Karen Fann to remain part of the audit team.
Based on assurances from Senate President Karen Fann, Ken Bennett will be remaining part of the team involved in auditing Maricopa County’s handling of the 2020 General Election, including preparation of the final public report.
Bennett told KFYI’s James T. Harris on Wednesday morning that he was stepping down as the liaison for the Arizona Senate’s audit of Maricopa County’s election process and would not be involved with any the reports unless he was provided timely and sufficient access to the underlying data.
A formal resignation notice was to be issued later in the day, but Bennett and Fann negotiated an agreement Wednesday afternoon to ensure Bennett’s continued involvement.
In the interview with Harris, Bennett admitted he had been audit liaison “in name only” the last several days after Fann approved his lockout from the audit location. He has also been without access to the key audit data which is being analyzed right now in advance of a formal report.
Fann hand-picked Bennett, a former Arizona Secretary of State, to work on the Senate’s behalf with audit contractor Cyber Ninjas and several subcontractors. However, he was left with no option but to resign after the lockout and Fann’s statement on Tuesday in which she chastised Bennett for providing “incomplete” data to an outside election expert who then leaked it to the media.
Some audit watchers were quick to note Doug Logan, the CEO of audit contractor Cyber Ninjas, has repeatedly released incomplete audit data to the public. And that it is Bennett, as the public face of the audit, whose credibility and reputation has been at stake as he fought for transparency in the audit activities.
“Ken Bennett has done everything he could to keep the wheels from falling off this thing,” an audit insider told Arizona Daily Independent. “At the same time, Karen Fann has had her head in the sand, hoping that she’s held harmless.”
The insider, who has been involved with the Senate’s audit for months, said the audit process has taken a toll on everyone, including Bennett and his family.
“People should not shoot the messenger, Ken Bennett, if the message doesn’t suit their political agenda. And any political agenda should be election integrity and not making grifters rich,” the insider said.
Despite Bennett’s transgression in releasing what will be public records eventually, Fann insisted he “will be involved and a vital part of the draft and final reports” in order to ensure their accuracy. But Bennett told Harris he was “very surprised” by Fann’s statement as he cannot in good conscience be involved in the report process without having full access to the source data used to create the final report.
He also believes the intense national scrutiny the Senate’s audit has received to date will pale to the scrutiny which will be given the final report. That is why, Bennett said, it is critical for audit officials to ensure any reports are based only on “factual and substantiated” information.
“I cannot put a rubber stamp on a product that I am being locked out of its development,” Bennett said, adding that Arizonans will decide the credibility of the final report based on whether or not “there’s a foundation of factual integrity that it was built upon.”
“Arizonans deserve to know whether their elections have integrity,” Bennett said. “And it’s not about whether Trump won an election, it’s about was the election done right. And if we can find any weaknesses we get them fixed before the next elections in 2022 and 2024.”
In the interview, Bennett also blasted Maricopa County officials for their “obstructionist” attitude toward the audit, which formally kicked off in April with a hand count of more than 2 million ballots cast in the county during the 2020 General Election.
County election staffers have been instructed to not cooperate with the Senate’s audit, despite Bennett’s pleas to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and County Recorder Stephen Richer for assistance.