Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich fired off a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland over what Brnovich characterized as “an alarming disdain for state sovereignty.”

At issue is the ongoing audit of the 2020 election returns in Maricopa County by the Arizona state Senate. In a speech last week, Garland downplayed such audits, saying they “have relied on assertions of material vote fraud in the 2020 election that have been refuted by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.”

In his letter, Brnovich told Garland his remarks were “troubling,” and he referenced a May 5 letter from Pamela Karlan of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

“This letter appeared more interested in supporting the hysterical outcries of leftist pundits on cable television, rather than the rule of law,” Brnovich wrote.

“My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing and will not tolerate any effort to undermine or interfere with our State Senate’s audit to reassure Arizonans of the accuracy of our elections,” he added. “We stand ready to defend federalism and state sovereignty against any partisan attack or federal overreach.”

We stand ready to defend federalism and state sovereignty against any partisan attacks or federal overreach. https://t.co/FPx96b8Cg1

— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) June 14, 2021

Arizona’s chief prosecutor reminded the attorney general that the states created the federal government, not the other way around.

“America’s founders intentionally restrained the federal government’s constitutional boundaries to ensure each state could flourish in unique ways,” Brnovich continued. “Today, our federal government has largely forgotten the Founders’ intent, but my office has not.”

Brnovich said states prioritizing the integrity of elections is the “cornerstone of our republic,” and given the widespread “mistrust in our elections,” this should not be a partisan effort.

“My office looks for ways to work alongside the federal government to uphold our laws within the constraints of the 10th Amendment and the election provisions in Articles I and II,” he concluded. “As I have demonstrated several times, however, Arizona will not sit back and let the Biden administration abuse its authority, refuse to uphold laws, or attempt to commandeer our state’s sovereignty.”

Brnovich announced Thursday that he is running for Senate, looking to be the GOP nominee to take on Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in 2022.

He joins two other Republican candidates seen as potentially formidable, Jim Lamon, a solar energy entrepreneur, and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael “Mick” McGuire.

“We need an Arizona conservative in Washington who stands up for us and our values,” Brnovich said. “Someone who’s been tested. Someone who won’t go run and hide at the first sign of trouble.”

Former President Donald Trump has been critical of Brnovich for what he considered tepid support of the ongoing ballot audit in Maricopa County, calling him “lackluster” and saying he’s “nowhere to be found.”

“Our Country needs Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who has done little so far on Voter Integrity and the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, to step it up,” Trump said in a June 2 statement.

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:

Standing up to the federal govenment?

Be still my heart

— Nicholas Ayers (@NicholasAyers) June 15, 2021

Arizona Attorney General drops the 🎤 on AG Garland while giving him a civics lesson and a refresh on the 10th Amendment and Federalism. More of this, please.

— Steve Kries (@SteveKries) June 15, 2021

AZ told the fed to vogue somewhere else.

— Dover (@Pro_Dover) June 14, 2021

Why are the Dems so scared of these audits ??

— Mike O’Brien (@MikeOBr19653952) June 15, 2021

Why is the DOJ using intimidation tactics towards a state and couldn’t this be abuse of power by the administration? I mean that’s what the left would be screaming if this was Trump. They would probably try to impeach over it.

— Preaus (@Preaus) June 15, 2021

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Tom Tillison

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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

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