You can add the names of Senate President Karen Fann and Senate Audit Liason Randy Pullen to those who are unhappy with Kelli Ward and the Arizona Republican Party raising major dollars in the name of the Maricopa County Election Audit, in spite of the AZGOP not spending any of the money to actually support the audit itself.
According to media reports, “More BS.” is how Pullen described an email from Kelli Ward, claiming that audit supporters needed to keep writing checks to the Arizona Republican Party if they wanted the audit to be successfully completed.
When pressed by questions, Ward claimed the money was to “keep the pressure on”, fight court battles and the like. Except the only court battles funded by the AZGOP were Ward’s efforts to prevent an audit of the AZGOP’s own election from January of this year, and President Fann and the Senate Republicans didn’t need anyone to keep the pressure on. They saw the audit through to the end.
“Why are we allowing the GOP to make money off the audit when they aren’t paying for any of it?” asked Fann, echoing questions being asked by other audit supporters.
The fact is that the AZGOP was merely taking advantage of the moment and people’s emotions to convince them to give to the Party, knowing they actually wanted to give to the audit. Yet like so many who use causes to line their own pockets, so long as the small, printed disclosures said that the contributions would benefit the Arizona Republican Party, the solicitations themselves are not illegal. They may anger donors who later find out their money didn’t go where it was supposed to go, but no laws are being broken.
The fact that Pullen, himself a former AZGOP Chairman, took offense at the tactic, is a positive indication that at least not every Republican Party Official is okay with the ruse.