Washington, DC — As Maricopa County in Arizona released their dangerous election “audit” report – that still confirmed Biden’s victory – the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) has remained complicit in the spreading of Donald Trump’s Big Lie and the months-long disinformation campaign that continues to threaten our democracy. 18 Republican Attorney Generals are directly supporting the Big Lie and now Trump is directly calling on Attorney General Brnovich to continue the lie through a criminal investigation. The big lie led directly to the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and there are major unanswered questions about RAGA’s involvement on that day. 

Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Nevada AG Aaron Ford, Co-Chairs of the Democratic Attorneys General Association released the following statement: 

“Republican Attorneys General have been complicit in Donald Trump’s Big Lie – and it’s time for these attacks on our democracy to stop. Nearly 20 of them have steadfastly refused to condemn the Big Lie or explicitly poured fuel on the fire by joining lawsuits calling the election results into question – leading to things like today’s dangerous Maricopa County “audit.” Their actions undermine the fabric of our democracy and Constitution, and we call on them to stop them immediately.” 

Just last month, two watchdog groups — Accountable.US and Just Security — urged members of the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6 to call Republican Attorneys General and RAGA staff for testimony regarding their role in organizing the rally that led to the Capitol insurrection. Reporting confirmed RAGA’s policy arm — the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF) — paid for a robocall promoting the rally, encouraging “patriots” to march to the Capitol building to “stop the steal.” RLDF was also listed as a sponsor on the march’s official website. 
 
In addition to the robocall, Republican Attorneys General bear responsibility for spreading Trump’s Big Lie and trying to overturn the results of the election. Last fall, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit where he was joined by 17 other Republican AGs challenging President Biden’s win. 
 
Currently, there are 18 Republican Attorneys General who are directly supporting the Big Lie – and there are nearly half a dozen Republican candidates for state Attorneys General who have expressed support for false election fraud claims. 
 
As the states’ top legal officer, Attorneys General need to support the rule of law, not forfeit it to pander to a dangerous, far-right political agenda as Republican AGs are doing right now. Americans deserve leaders in office who are focused on governing, not those who are obsessed with false claims about an election that happened nine months ago. It’s time RAGA and its member call out this “audit” for exactly what it is: a dangerous political stunt meant to further divide this country.  

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