Who is Karen Fann? AZ Senate president who mailed Trump to prove voter fraud also said 'Biden won'
The Arizona Senate on Friday, June 4, released more than 500 pages of records related to the audit in Maricopa County. The Senate was forced to make the records public after a freedom of information request. The records reveal the key role Senate President Karen Fann played in the audit and how she continued to peddle Donald Trump's big lie, despite conceding that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election.
The audit in Maricopa County is seen by many as a "sham", with Democrats slamming Republicans for going ahead despite two previous audits. Republicans have continued to push lies of voter fraud, despite repeated rulings by courts. Arizona has been at the center of the battle, ever since the elections took place. Ballot counting was disrupted in October by armed Trump supporters and the state has also seen repeated challenges, leading to the current audit.
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The emails released show that Fann played a crucial role in getting the audit to take place. In fact, her support was so vocal, Trump even called her to thank Fann for "pushing to prove any fraud."
Who is Karen Fann?
A career politician, Fann has served in the Arizona State Senate since 2016. She moved to Prescott, Arizona as a four-year-old and has lived in the city for a long time. We were unable to find any educational records for Fann. Her official biography states that she "gained four years of experience in the legal field and ten in the airport/ airline industry." It is unclear where she worked during this time. Later, Fann also obtained a realtor license and became a licensed contractor.
In 1984, Fann launched Arizona Highway Safety Specialists, with just $500 to her name. The firm quickly grew to become Arizona’s largest installer of roadway guardrails and signage. She still serves as owner and CEO of the firm, which reportedly has over 30 employees. At some point, she and her husband Jim McKown also operated the FANN-M equine facility. She began her political career by first serving on the Prescott City Council in 1992. A decade later, she was elected as the Mayor of the town of Chino Valley, a position she served in until 2009.
Between 2011 and 2016, Fann served as a State Representative for Legislative District 1. In November 2016, she was successful in her run for state senate. During her second term, she was elected as Senate President, becoming only the second female president in Arizona history. Apart from this, Fann has also served on a variety of other boards and organizations. A staunch Republican, Fann has a 95% rating from conservative organizations according to iVoterGuide.
Fann pushes for audit, agrees Biden won
Emails show that Fann met numerous times with Rudy Giuliani, who was spearheading Trump's legal campaign to overturn the election. "I have been in numerous conversations with Rudy [Giuliani] over the past weeks trying to get this done. I have the full support of him and a personal call from President Trump thanking us for pushing to prove any fraud," she told a constituent in December 2020.
Emails show Fann was present during an unofficial "hearing" in Pheonix, where Giuliani was pushing claims of voter fraud. That led Fann and other Republicans in the Senate to call for the third audit, currently being done. Emails also show links to Christina Bobb, a reporter for the right-wing One America News Network (OANN). "I'm currently working on a story about OAN's access to the Arizona audit," she wrote on May 13.
Fann also mentions conspiracy theorist Jovan Pulitzer in some exchanges. A constituent called Pulizter, "the true paper forensic expert". Pulizter rose to fame for claiming he had developed technology that could detect "counterfeit" ballots. He also inspired some ridicule for claiming some ballots came from China and had strands of bamboo in them. On January 25, he emailed Fann, "Karen, thank you very much for your time today."
Together, all these links show just how far Fann was willing to go to prove fraud in Maricopa County. She also received emails from constituents asking if they could help, and others who slammed her for pushing the audit. It's during one of these exchanges, Fann declared that Biden won the election. On May 21, she replied to a constituent, "Biden won. 45 % of all Arizona voters thinks there is a problem with the election system. The audit is to disprove those theories or find ways to improve the system."
In another mail, just days earlier, she said, "Please know this has never been about Trump or overturning the election contrary to what is out there on social media." Nonetheless, she continues to peddle the lie that Trump won, and that the election was stolen. Weeks ago, she said the audit was justified and would continue despite calls from Maricopa County officials to end the audit.