Republican audit of Arizona election results gets off to chaotic start as journalists denied...

A Republican audit of Arizona’s 2020 election results is off to a chaotic start with disputes over procedure, lawsuits and journalists being denied access to report on the effort.

The audit, which is being enthusiastically cheered on by Donald Trump, was launched in response to bogus claims of election fraud promoted by the former president and his supporters.

The state senate’s audit team tried to stop multiple reporters from attending the press conference because they hadn’t requested permission, the Arizona Mirror reported.

Reporters invited to the news conference by a Florida-based PR firm was allowed into the briefing, but those notified about the event by the state senate’s audit liaison, former Republican Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, were blocked at the door.

All the reporters were later allowed to attend the briefing, but the mood was contentious.