Disputed Fact
[Disputed Fact – EMS log-clearing as willful – contested by County] Following a court-ordered subpoena by the Arizona State Senate, Maricopa County officials failed to produce chain-of-custody documentation required by A.R.S. ยง 16-621(E), and the Cyber Ninjas audit documented that EMS logs and database records for the 2020 General Election had been overwritten or cleared after the subpoena was issued. Forensic analysis found that more than 37,000 identical queries were run on the EMS server in the days following the court order to produce materials. Separately, Maricopa County directed its vendors – including Dominion Voting Systems – not to cooperate with the audit, and deployed Pro V&V, an uncertified auditor, to validate results in lieu of full independent forensic access.
Citations
Maricopa County denied that the EMS database deletion was willful. Per AP News fact-check, the County asserted the files were archived to a different location and that auditors examined the wrong drives.
Cyber Ninjas Final Audit Report (Sept. 2021), Vol. III, p. 3-5: documents 37,000+ identical queries run on the EMS server after the subpoena was issued. Maricopa County disputed the characterization, arguing the queries reflected routine database optimization rather than deliberate deletion.
Classification as Disputed Fact reflects that while EMS log overwriting is documented, whether it was willful destruction versus routine system maintenance is contested by the County and has not been adjudicated. The AZ AG finding of subpoena non-compliance is Established Fact; the mental state element remains disputed.
Arizona Senate Letter on Deleted EMS Database: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/breaking-maricopa-county-elections-officials-deleted-entire-database-voting-machines-including-election-information-main-database/ | Gateway Pundit
Cyber Ninjas Audit Report Claims on EMS Purge: https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-245777300938 | AP News