9 Jan 29th-Feb 4th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | “No matter what type of written communication is used, if a public official is communicating with anyone as part of his or her job, it is a public record that is presumed available for disclosure,” Arizona Attorney General spokesperson Richie Taylor told New Times via email. Nor would it matter if the communication in question was made with a private cell phone. “Personal devices are not exempt either if the communication is related to the official’s job,” Taylor wrote. Nick Bacon, a staff attorney with the state Ombudsman’s office, generally agreed with Taylor’s assessment. “To my knowledge, Arizona’s public records statutes and the case law inter- preting them do not exempt encrypted communications from the requirements placed on public records,” Bacon told New Times in an email. “Similarly, Arizona courts and public records law have not exempted communications made on private devices.” According to Bacon, the key issue is whether the communication at hand was a public record. A court could take into consideration encryption and the owner- ship of the device, but these factors would not be “determinative,” he said. “If an agency gave as its reason for a denial that a communication is encrypted or exists only on personal devices,” Bacon wrote, “that alone would not exempt a public record from disclosure.” An agency could argue that the communications were “purely personal and therefore not public records at all,” Bacon said. But the messages New Times reviewed were clearly not of a personal nature. And, according to Pinal County’s public records department, as well as both Miller and Brosowske, the Signal chats do not exist at all. ‘Oh, yes, we are’ It’s hardly surprising that the use of Signal would become an issue for Miller, whose prior claim to fame was going to bat for two of Arizona’s fake electors and aiding ever-wacky ex-state Sen. Justine Wadsack in her crusade over a 2024 speeding ticket. Multiple sources told New Times that Miller was advised by both attor- neys and non-attorneys on his staff that Brosowske’s genius idea of having folks communicate via Signal was a bad one. One source described an in-person meeting with Miller during which Brosowske mocked people who were questioning “if we were going to use Signal.” “Oh, yes, we are,” Miller replied, according to the source. Brosowske may not have been the best source of counsel. As New Times reported, he has a checkered past that involves reportedly being kicked off the city council of Hesperia, California, and leaving a well-paying gig as an assistant manager for San Bernardino County’s West Valley Water District in what one news outlet called part of a “house- cleaning move” for the district. At his Jan. 12 press conference, Miller was silent when asked if he knew about Brosowske’s history in California. When asked if Miller knew about his past before hiring him, Brosowske said, “I’m not answering any personal questions.” Regardless, Miller’s use of Signal raised a red flag for Chandler attorney and local pundit Tom Ryan. Lawyers have a duty to preserve evidence, he said, and public servants have a “heightened responsibility” to the public and their oaths of office “to preserve records of communications that could be consid- ered public.” It’s not that using Signal or other encrypted apps violates the law, he said, but that officials have an obligation to retain communications made on such apps if they regard public matters. “The day-to-day operations of a public official, you have a duty to preserve those things,” Ryan said, “and if you’re using Signal, you have a duty to preserve them before they go away.” Ryan added a word of advice to all public officials. “If you’re communicating on some- thing that is a public matter,” he said, “perhaps using Signal is not the right way to go.” This story is part of the Arizona Watchdog Project, a yearlong reporting effort led by New Times and supported by the Trace Foundation, in partnership with Deep South Today. Something to Hide from p 7 Jeremiah Brosowske, the chief of staff for Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller. (Jeremiah Brosowske for City Council Facebook Page)
