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Arizona judge takes narrow view of legislative privilege in audit records

Judge John Hannah said Tuesday the Arizona Senate can't claim "legislative privilege" for all the records involved in the recent audit of Maricopa County's ballots.

PHOENIX — A judge says the Arizona Senate can’t claim legislative privilege to avoid releasing a wide variety of records from the review of the 2020 vote count conducted on behalf of Republican leaders.

The Senate and its lead contractor, Cyber Ninjas, have been battling for months over two public records lawsuits. 

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah on Tuesday took a narrow view of legislative privilege, saying the Senate may be able to keep secret only the communications of lawmakers discussing future legislation. 

Hannah said the Senate can’t plausibly claim a need for secrecy given the amount of information that the Senate has already made public about the ballot review. 

Meanwhile, a lawyer for Cyber Ninjas says the company is insolvent and can’t afford to pay attorneys to help it comply with court orders to release public documents.

Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.

RELATED: No, the Arizona Senate GOP's 'audit' did not find 57,000 questionable ballots

RELATED: Court sides with newspaper over Arizona audit public records

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