A controversial ‘cybersecurity consultancy’ has said it’s closing after its report into alleged election fraud in Arizona was roundly rebuffed by officials.
According to a reporter for The Guardian, boss Doug Logan “and the rest of the employees have been let go and Cyber Ninjas is being shut down.”
Arizona Senate Republicans hired Cyber Ninjas to find evidence supporting Donald Trump’s widely debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Its long-awaited report was this week slammed in a 93-page rebuttal by election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County. According to reports, 76 of the 77 claims made in the document were branded false or misleading.
The only one confirmed as an error was the double-counting of 50 ballots in the state’s most populous county, not enough to overturn the 10,000+ majority Joe Biden won there.
Cyber Ninjas was accused of deliberately using tactics that would lead to inaccuracies and even consulted conspiracy theorist Shiva Ayyadurai to review mail-in ballots.
“It’s been debunked and it was written by people who are not experts in the field,” said Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. “We’re done. This is the end of the 2020 election. We have addressed the issues; we have debunked them.”
Cyber Ninjas is also in legal trouble after failing to turn over documents related to the audit to a local newspaper after it filed a public records request.
Maricopa County superior court judge John Hannah reportedly said he would impose a $50,000 fine against the firm every day it failed to do so.
“I don’t think I have to find Cyber Ninjas is not acting in good faith,” the judge is reported to have ruled. “All I have to do is find they are not complying, and their noncompliance is not based on good faith and reasonable interpretation of the order. I think the variety of creative positions Cyber Ninjas has taken to avoid compliance with this order speaks for itself.