The head of the private company contracted by the Arizona Senate to audit how Maricopa County handled the 2020 General Election announced Thursday that more than $5.7 million was donated toward the endeavor, but who got all that money is not clear.
Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, reported that to date five organizations donated $5,711,514 to help pay for audit activities which started in April with a hand count of Maricopa County’s nearly 2.1 million ballots. The audit has involved more than 1,500 workers and volunteers, Logan said.
Arizona Senate President Karen Fann contracted Logan’s company earlier this year for a total payment of $150,000. She then allowed Logan and his subcontractors to solicit funds to cover the actual cost of the audit.
Among the five donor groups, $3.25 million came from Florida-based The America Project, whose website says was founded “to advance freedom and preserve the American way of life.” Nearly $977,000 came from America’s Future, an organization founded by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (U.S. Retired).
A total of $605,000 was donated by Voices and Votes, a 501(c)(4) co-founded by OANN reporter Christina Bobb, who had VIP access throughout the hand count process at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
There was also $550,000 from Defending The Republic, a legal defense fund started by Sidney Powell -one of former President Donald Trump’s former attorneys. Powell was involved in several lawsuits challenges aspects of how Maricopa County and the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office conducted last fall’s election.
Public records in Florida and Texas show Defending the Republic’s directors to be MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, as well as Lin Wood, Michael Flynn, Flynn’s brother Joseph, and Powell.
Finally, $280,000 came into someone’s coffers from an entity identified as LDFFTAR / EIFFTAR, known as the Legal Defense Funds for the American Republic and the Election Integrity Funds for the American Republic.
But money wasn’t the only thing some of the groups brought to the table, Logan said.
“In addition to their financial support, the America Project, Voices and Votes, and the DePerno Team (behind Election Integrity Funds for the American Republic, EIFFTAR) have also provided operational support and advice pivotal in executing the audit,” he said. “We’d also like to specifically thank Apologia Church in Phoenix, who provided snacks for all of our participants throughout the duration of the audit and tirelessly worked behind the scenes to make this all a success.”
Logan said the donation information was released as part of the audit team’s “commitment to transparency.” He added that his team could not have done the audit without the financial help.
American Oversight, a non-partisan, nonprofit ethics watchdog of public entities, initiated legal action last month to gain access to donor records, as did some Arizona media outlets. A spokesperson for Cyber Ninjas told Arizona Daily Independent there are no plans at this time to provide further details related to the donations.