About
Jack Wilenchik is lawyer based in Phoenix, Arizona who helped organize fake Pro-trump electors from the state as part of a plan to sabotage the Electoral College certification process on Jan. 6, 2021 and throw the election in Trump’s favor.
Practicing for the firm Wilenchik & Bartness, he specializes in business and employment law, civil rights, law enforcement, elections law, victim’s rights matters, and tax audits/deficiencies. In 2017, Wilenchik represented former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in his contempt of court case and two months after the sheriff was convicted, the lawyer accepted Trump’s pardon documents on Arpaio’s behalf.
January 6, 2021
- Wilenchik is among the Arizona operatives who plotted to send a slate of “fake” electors to the Electoral College certification process in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. In coordinating with Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn about the legal implications of the plan, he wrote: “Members of Congress could technically argue that they’re not bound by federal law because they’re Congress and make the law, etc.”
- In the email to Epshteyn, Wilenchik admitted that he knew the scheme was fraudulent and problematic, explaining that Arizona Republicans “would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence so that ‘someone’ in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes, and start arguing that the ‘fake’ votes should be counted.” In a subsequent email, he added: “‘alternative’ votes is probably a better term than ‘fake’ votes,” followed by a smiley face emoji.
- Wilenchik also apparently coordinated the fake electors scheme with Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, writing to Epshteyn: “Kelli’s thought it [sic] to try to keep it under wraps until Congress counts the vote Jan. 6th (so we can try to ‘surprise’ the Dems and media with it),” adding, “I tend to agree with her.”
- In September 2022, the Arizona State Bar began an official investigation of Wilenchik relative to his role in the fake electors plot.
The Big Lie
- Wilenchik represented Arizona’s GOP Chair Kelli Ward in a lawsuit challenging the validity of counting 1,626 ballots that were duplicated because voters’ original ballots had been damaged enough that they couldn’t be run through tabulators. He maintained that “we have brought this case for a good reason,” while lawyers for Maricopa County election officials responded with: “There is no way any of this evidence could justify throwing out the votes of the people of Arizona because somebody didn’t like the results.”
Election Audits
- Wilenchik served as the legal representative for Cyber Ninjas, the private company that conducted the Arizona forensic audit/”fraudit” of the 2020 presidential election. As the company’s lawyer, he maintained that it had no obligation to turn over records to the government that had been gathered during the audit. In January 2022, Wilenchik reported to the press that Cyber Ninjas was insolvent and asked to resign as its legal representative, noting that he had not been paid for his services.