On Wednesday Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs asked the state’s attorney general to launch a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Maricopa County.

It’s a legally appropriate request after blockbuster reporting from AZCentral last week documented the urgent bid by Trump and his allies to pressure Maricopa election officials both before and after they had certified the results.

But Hobbs’ formal ask of Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich is also an ingenious bit of political jujitsu. Brnovich has announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, hoping to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, and he has been laboring to endear himself to Trump as a loyal soldier to his cause. Now Brnovich is in a bit of a pickle—does he ignore the fact that the most powerful man in the country tried to interfere with the state’s election, or does he do the right thing by Maricopa election officials and voters, who are also likely to prove decisive in his Senate contest? Hmm. Did we mention that Hobbs is also running for governor?

Hobbs called the communications “clear efforts to induce supervisors to refuse to comply with their duties,” noting that Trump, state Republican Party chair Kelli Ward, and Rudy Giuliani had all reached out to GOP members of the county’s Board of Supervisors. 

Hobbs emailed the request to Brnovich Wednesday and his office declined to comment at the time.

Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona lodged a similar request with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch an inquiry into the “pressure campaign” mounted by Trump and his allies. Their efforts “reflect a disturbing trend following the 2020 election of Trump advisors and allies, and even former President Trump himself, committing potential crimes to overturn the election,” Gallego wrote.

Garland has yet to respond.

There’s no reasonable excuse for either men to sidestep the matter. The AZCentral reporting was extensive, well documented, and well sourced. To ignore it entirely would be legal malpractice.