The plaintiffs in the case are Phoenix Newspapers and Kathy Tulumello, news director for The Arizona Republic. Including the state Senate and Cyber Ninjas, the other defendants named are Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott), Senate Majority Leader Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert), and the secretary for the Senate, Susan Aceves.
The complaint argued that all documents relative to the audit are public record because Cyber Ninjas was engaged in a "core governmental function" partly funded by taxpayer dollars.
In another ongoing lawsuit requesting similar transparency to the audit, American Oversight v. Fann et al., the Senate argued in a motion to dismiss that Cyber Ninjas wasn't subject to the state's open records laws because it's a private corporation serving as a vendor. The motion to dismiss read:
"The crux of this dispute is discrete and straightforward: private corporations that serve as vendors to the state government are not 'public bodies' within the meaning of A.R.S. ยง 39-121.02(2). It follows that any document in their possession, custody or control are outside the scope of The Arizona Public Records Act[.]"In the last court document filed, the Senate added that it doesn't possess Cyber Ninjas' corporate records.
The Senate-instigated audit began with a lawsuit. On the same day that the audit was to begin, April 22, Arizona's Democratic Party and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors member Steve Gallardo filed suit against the state Senate and Cyber Ninjas to stop the audit in Arizona Democratic Party et al v. Fann et al. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, We the People AZ Alliance PAC, and Maricopa County Libertarian Party joined in with their endorsements; the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona joined as an intervenor in the case.
The court dismissed that case with prejudice.
Although the Arizona audit has moved from its primary location at the coliseum, it is ongoing.
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