Arizona Senate Passes Bill that Would Require a Two-Thirds Majority for County Supervisors, City and Town Councils to Raise Taxes

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen

The State Senate passed a bill on Monday sponsored by Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) that will require a two-thirds majority for county supervisors, city and town councils to raise taxes. SB 1013, which passed 17-12 down party lines, also requires the same majority to increase assessments and fees, and preempts further regulation by municipalities and counties due to it being a matter of statewide concern. 

In a video released on X, Warren said, “I’ve heard from many of you that you have been concerned about how much taxes, water bills and fees have been going up at your local government, your city or your county.” He also released a statement which further explained his reasoning for bringing the bill. “I’ve received a number of concerns and complaints from Arizonans who are frustrated with recent hikes on taxes and fees, especially in this era of inflation,” he said. “We want government to be more efficient with taxpayer dollars, and this is a step in the right direction.” 

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State Audit Reveals Why Voter Citizenship Was Not Tracked in Arizona, Discovers U.S. Non-Citizen Residents Illegally Registered to Vote

Lorie Shaull

After concerns arose last year over the numbers of noncitizens on Arizona’s voter rolls, Governor Katie Hobbs ordered an audit to figure out why there were so many. The audit, which was released last week, examined the problems that arose at the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) within the Arizona Department of Transportation, which offers “motor voter” automatic voter registration to Arizonans conducting driving related transactions. The audit investigated a “glitch” allowing over 200,000 voters who did not show documented proof of citizenship (DPOC) prior to 1996, and found another glitch allowing U.S. nationals to register to vote. 

Merissa Hamilton, co-founder of the conservative grassroots EZAZ which performs election integrity work, spoke to The Arizona Sun Times about the audit. “I have little to no confidence that neither MVD or the Governor’s task force have identified and resolved all of the issues with the voter registration and management process,” she said. “A voter we identified last year that stated they are not a citizen and do not know how they got registered wasn’t identified as being part of this problem investigated by the Secretary’s office. Clearly, there are still unidentified non-citizens on the voter rolls. The voters deserve a comprehensive audit of the rolls with a thorough review by DHS. The clown show that our election administration has come to be known as nationally must end. Our taxpayers deserve best in class elections.”

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State Rep. Alex Kolodin Proposes Bill to Stop Lawfare, Political Prosecutions of Opponents

State Rep. Alex Kolodin

State Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) proposed a bill last week that would stop lawfare and the political prosecutions of opponents. HB 2633 broadens laws against Strategic Legal Actions Against Public Participation (known as anti-SLAPP laws) to include political and religious expression, creates additional remedies against state actors who bring SLAPP suits, and establishes an avenue for post-conviction relief when a defendant asserts that a prosecution was politically motivated. Anti-SLAPP laws prohibit using the courts to suppress the First Amendment, including the constitutional rights of petition, speech, and association. 

Kolodin, an election and constitutional attorney, announced the bill on X, quoting President Donald Trump. “‘Never again will the immense power of the state be used to prosecute political opponents!’ – Trump,” he said. “HB2633 turns that promise into law. It’s up in Judiciary next week. Show up. Speak out. Make the Constitution great again!”

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Attorney General Kris Mayes Offers to Hire Prosecutors and FBI Agents Who Were Fired by Trump Over Their Lawfare Against Him

Arizona A.G. Kris Hayes

In response to the Trump administration firing prosecutors and FBI agents in the Biden administration who came after Donald Trump and others concerned about election fraud in 2020, Attorney General Kris Mayes posted on X that she would hire them. Mayes is prosecuting several of Trump’s allies over their work regarding the botched 2020 election, including Trump’s former attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, with Donald Trump himself an unindicted co-conspirator. While other prosecutors across the country have backed off on targeting Trump and those around him since he won the 2024 presidential election, Mayes is doubling down on her antagonism.

“My message to all FBI agents and federal prosecutors who are being wrongfully fired by Trump: come see me about a job,” Mayes said. “We are hiring at the AZ Attorney General’s office and we actually support law enforcement.” She linked to a CBS news article about the terminations of the employees involved in the prosecutions of Trump and the J6 protesters. There were hundreds of comments after her post, almost all very critical of her. 

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State Bar of Texas Drops ‘Baseless and Politically Motivated’ Charges Against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Over His 2020 Election Lawsuit

Texas AG Ken Paxton

The State Bar of Texas (SBT) dropped its charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this past week for filing the lawsuit Texas v. Pennsylvania, which contested election wrongdoing in the 2020 election. The move came in response to the Texas Supreme Court issuing a ruling dismissing the State Bar of Texas’s (SBT) four-year-long attempt to discipline Paxton’s First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster over his role in the lawsuit, calling it an “egregious invasion of the attorney general’s authority.” 

“I am pleased to announce that the Texas State Bar has finally ended its baseless and politically motivated attempt to stop me for doing my duty to defend election integrity,” Paxton said in a statement. “The State Bar’s meritless case was not about justice or the rule of law but about weaponizing the legal process to attack me for boldly defending the rights of Texas. For four years, this unfounded lawfare wasted valuable time and resources, but these unethical tactics will never stop me from fighting to uphold the rule of law, protect our elections, and defend the values that Texans hold dear.”

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Phoenix High School District Refuses to Comply with Trump Administration Crackdown, Declares Itself a ‘Safe Zone’ from ICE Arrests

Arrest

In response to the Trump administration’s new policies cracking down on illegal immigration, the Phoenix Union High School District (PUHSD) issued a resolution earlier this week declaring it will not comply. The Department of Homeland Security issued a directive on January 21 rescinding a policy implemented in 2011 under the Obama administration that prevented illegal immigration raids at or near schools or other “sensitive locations” unless an “exigent circumstance” exists, such as a national security threat. PUHSD’s resolution, issued in response, stated that the school district is a “Safe Zone” so the school can deny ICE officials information and entrance onto the premises. 

The resolution claimed that federal immigration law enforcement activities “harmfully disrupt the learning environment.” It said, “[I]t continues to be the policy of PXU not to allow any individual or organization to enter a school site if the educational setting would be disrupted by that visit…”

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Medicaid Fraud Implicated in Deaths of Native Americans Who Died in Phoenix Sober Living Homes, Governor Katie Hobbs Blamed

Group therapy treatment center

A massive Medicare fraud scheme has been unraveling in the state recently, involving sketchy sober living homes taking advantage of Native Americans, many who ended up dead. Scammers used hastily popped up sober living centers to take advantage of the program, which is operated under the state’s welfare system, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). Estimates of deaths range from two dozen to 200 people, with the fraud costing taxpayers up to $2.5 billion. Much of the blame has been placed on Governor Katie Hobbs for not stopping the fraud. 

Three wrongful death lawsuits have been filed related to the fraud. A 232-page class action lawsuit was filed in December. It alleged, “The grossly negligent and indifferent misconduct of Defendant STATE OF ARIZONA, including through its agencies AHCCCS and AZ-DHS, caused thousands of Native Americans, who are the class action Plaintiffs and proposed Class Members, to suffer and incur horrific injuries, deaths, dangerous drug addictions, fraudulent mental health services, homelessness, and other damages described herein that resulted in the so-called ‘sober living crisis.’ Defendant STATE OF ARIZONA is culpable for creating the crisis.”

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ASU Journalism School’s ‘Dishonest Hit Piece’ Hurting Reputation of Retired Sheriff Mack and His Law Enforcement Group

Retired Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack

Retired Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, known for his lawsuit in the 1990s that successfully convinced the Supreme Court to strike down the Brady Bill’s requirement that local law enforcement conduct background checks, is suffering damage to his reputation after journalists at Arizona State University wrote a “dishonest hit piece” about Mack and his law enforcement organization. Arizona State University’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism (HCIJ), in collaboration with the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting (AZCIR), published an article on August 21, 2023 that falsely portrayed Mack and his Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) as vigilantes who were prone to violence. 

Mack met with the journalists prior to the article to provide them with CSPOA’s standard training on the Constitution, which the group offers to law enforcement officers and others. It thoroughly goes over how CSPOA was formed on the basis of the principles laid out in his famous case, Printz v. United States. However, Mack told The Arizona Sun Times the eventual article the journalists produced never mentioned anything from his almost two-hour long presentation, which refuted many of their assertions about him and CSPOA. The article barely mentioned the case, which is the reason why Mack is famous. 

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New Conservative Fountain Hills Leadership Kills ‘Woke DEI’ Road Diets

Fountain Hill Town Councilmember Allen Skillicorn

With conservatives now dominating the leadership in Fountain Hills, a plan for road diets has been defeated. The Fountain Hills Town Council (FHTC) voted 5 to 2 against the “Woke DEI Vision Zero Road Diet Plan” on Tuesday. The program was approved in April of last year under the leadership of former far left Mayor Ginny Dickey and Democrats on the FHTC. Road diets eliminate lanes on roads in the city and replace them with bicycle lanes.

Fountain Hills Councilman Allen Skillicorn said in a statement released to The Arizona Sun Times, “This plan includes a commitment to gender equity, why? This plan mentions greenhouse gases seven times, mentions climate change nine times, mentions environmental justice thirteen times, and mentions equity twenty times. Our town and our nation have rejected wokeness and DEI. Today is a new era of common sense. This is not for our town.” 

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State Senate President Introduces ‘AZ ICE Act’ to Ensure Governor Hobbs Cooperates with Trump’s Enforcement of Immigration Laws

ICE arrest

State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa), in anticipation of Governor Katie Hobbs refusing to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, introduced the “AZ ICE Act” to require compliance this week. SB 1164 requires sheriffs and the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC) to enter into 287(g) agreements with the federal government by January 1, 2026, to support enforcement of federal immigration laws. This includes complying with immigration detainer requests, so criminal illegal immigrants aren’t released back on the streets.

“Ending the border crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Petersen said in a press release from the Arizona Senate. “This commonsense legislation will not only allow federal and local law enforcement to work together to protect our citizens, but it will also prevent government obstruction. Arizona voters spoke loud and clear last November. They overwhelmingly approved the ‘Secure the Border Act’ that Republicans referred to the ballot because they want the law enforced, and they want safe communities. I look forward to the AZ ICE Act passing the Legislature, and I’m hopeful the Governor will listen to our citizens by signing the bill when it hits her desk.”

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Arizona’s $125 Million Film Subsidy Faces Legal Challenge Over Alleged Constitutional Violation

Movie shoot on location

Representing two taxpayers, the Goldwater Institute (GI) filed a lawsuit last week against the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) challenging the use of taxpayers’ money to provide subsidies to the movie industry. The Arizona Motion Picture Production Program (AMPPP) hands out up to $125 million annually to films made primarily in Arizona. 

State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), who voted against the bill that established the
AMPPP, expressed her support for the lawsuit to The Arizona Sun Times. “Government should not pick winners and losers,” she said. “Goldwater Institute is right in line with how President Trump is hearkening back to our country’s ethos, which is merit-based, market-driven awarding success to those who earn it on a level playing field… instead of according to who you know, but what you know. We’re done with elitist backroom deals crushing the middle class.”

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Taxpayers and Students Are Funding $2 Billion in DEI Course Mandates at Public Universities, New Report Finds

The Goldwater Institute (GI) issued a report this month exposing how much DEI course mandates at public universities nationwide cost taxpayers and students. The report found that the cost is over $1.8 billion and could be as high as $3.8 billion, requiring 40 million hours. 

The report observed that the free speech advocacy organization Speech First found that 67 percent of U.S. colleges and universities require students to take a DEI course. Parents Defending Education revealed that the Department of Education awarded over $1 billion in grant funding for DEI courses within the past four years to K-12 schools and universities.

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Arizona Realtor Files Lawsuit Claiming Realtors’ Anti-discrimination Rule, Which He Allegedly Violated with Political Memes, Tramples the First Amendment

Chad DeVries

A realtor who was found to have violated an anti-discrimination rule due to posting memes on his personal anonymous Instagram account critical of LGBTQ has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Association of Realtors (AAR). Represented by attorney Ryan Heath, Chad DeVries filed Devries v. Arizona Association of Realtors in July 2024, alleging that the AAR did not have authority over his personal conduct, and asserted that by punishing him, he will not be able to access the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for real estate, preventing him from doing his job until the discipline is completed.

Podcaster and real estate pro Notorious Rob posted a couple of the memes from DeVries’ Instagram account, which is accessible only to followers and does not have his name on it. One of the memes shows a pregnant man with another man, titled “Man Gives Birth to Child.” DeVries added a comment, “I feel like we live on Mars. WTF”

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Jury Exonerates Phoenix Police Lieutenant Sued by Two ICE Protesters Over Arrests

Phoenix Police

A jury decided last week that Lieutenant Benjamin Moore of the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) did not violate the First Amendment rights of two demonstrators who refused to disperse from a 2019 “Lights for Liberty” protest against ICE. Activists Phil Martinez and George Soria sued Moore and the City of Phoenix in July 2021, alleging that they were arrested in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights to engage in free speech critical of the police, with Martinez stating that it caused him a panic attack. The pair and others were arrested for obstructing the highway, public thoroughfare, and unlawful assembly.

Moore’s defense attorney, John Masterson of Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC, explained in his closing argument to the jury that the reason Moore didn’t arrest most of the other protesters is because they left when the police asked them to disperse. He noted that Martinez’s and Soria’s attorney Mart Harris admitted that Martinez and Soria refused to leave, and that there had been over 100 warnings to disperse.

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Arizona House Republican Majority Issues Conservative Blueprint for 2025

Arizona State House Speaker Steve Montenegro

The Arizona House Republicans issued a “2025 Majority Plan” this week, laying out their plans for this year’s legislative session. The conservative blueprint contains sections on securing elections, securing the border, protecting individual rights and liberties, economic prosperity, improving education, and streamlining government.

Under the direction of new House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-Glendale), the plan to secure elections states, “Arizona voters deserve elections that are free, fair, and transparent. It shouldn’t take weeks to count ballots. We will protect the integrity of Arizona elections from anyone who chooses to tamper with them, and we will ensure that ballots are counted faster and results are known sooner.”

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Arizona Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee Passes Bill to Speed up Election Tabulation Modeled After Florida Law

Maricopa County election processing

The Arizona Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee passed election integrity bill SB 1011 with a 4-3 vote along party lines on Wednesday. Sponsored by Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa), the bill is modeled after Florida election law, in order to speed up ballot tabulation. Florida announces election results overnight after an election, whereas Arizona has come under criticism for taking up to two weeks due to lengthy signature verification on mail-in ballot affidavits.

The bill provides that voters who return their early ballots to early voting locations after 7 p.m. the Friday before the election would be required to present identification. Only if they drop the ballots off at the actual county recorder’s office that late would they be allowed to skip showing ID. Currently, voters can drop early ballots off at any location without ID up until 7 p.m. on Election Day. Additionally, in-person voting would be expanded past Friday before the election to Saturday and Sunday before the election.

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Governor Katie Hobbs’ State of the State Speech Provokes Strong Rebuttal from Republican Legislative Leaders

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs State of the State Address 2025

Governor Katie Hobbs gave the annual State of the State speech on Monday at the opening of the 2025 legislative session. Her speech contained a considerable amount of vague statements, including conservative sounding rhetoric, attacks on the Republican-controlled legislature, and a lengthy defense of abortion. 

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R-Florence) provided a rebuttal afterwards. 

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Arizona Senate Republicans Outline Bold, Conservative Agenda for 2025 Legislative Session

The Arizona Senate Republicans issued a three-part agenda for the 2025 legislative session this past Wednesday. The first item, or “pillar,” is securing the border. The second pillar is “Preserving the American Dream in Arizona,” and the third, “Embracing Federalism and State Sovereignty,” includes securing elections. 

State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), who chairs the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee, told The Arizona Sun Times that election integrity will be a priority despite Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. “We do not fear the veto pen,” she said. “We at the Arizona Legislature will work very hard to come up with solutions to get our votes tallied and results known by election night. We have conferred with other states like Florida for best practices. We invite the governor to join us in restoring Arizona‘s faith in our elections.“ 

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Stolen Valor Legislation Introduced in Arizona Legislature in Honor of Veteran Father of Conelrad Member

Orlando Jose and son Jack Dona

State Rep. Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake), a U.S. Army veteran, introduced legislation earlier this month to strengthen laws against impersonating a veteran for gain, known as stolen valor. The “Master Sergeant Orlando Dona Valor Act” is being introduced in honor of Orlando Jose Dona, MSgt, United States Air Force (Retired), who passed away last June at 91. His son, Jack Dona, MSG, U.S. Army (Retired), leads The CONELRAD Group, a team of mostly former intelligence and military officers located primarily in southern Arizona that investigates illegal election activity.

The younger Dona told The Arizona Sun Times, “It is a great honor to our family to have the Arizona Legislature name this bill in honor of my father. On 17 April, 1949, at the age of 16, Dad immigrated here to the United States from the Panama Canal Zone. From the moment he disembarked at the port of San Francisco, he embraced this nation with all his heart, and dedicated his life to service to the country, first in the military, and then in academics as a computer engineer for different university school systems. From the moment he set foot on U.S. Soil, Dad was 100 percent an American at heart.”

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Sold-Out Crowd Attends Launch of Documentary About Lawfare Against John Eastman with Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Eastman film

Hundreds of attendees who paid $1,000 to $50,000 each filled up a sold-out event at Mar-a-Lago Saturday evening, where they watched a screening of a new documentary about the lawfare against Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman. Madison Media Fund, launched by film producer Gary DePew to support “freedom focused filmmakers,” deliberately timed The Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice for release on January 6. Incoming-President Donald Trump stopped by to watch the movie, flanked by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). 

The evening included a panel discussion with Eastman and others in Trump’s circle who were targeted by lawfare; Rudy Giuliani, Alan Dershowitz, General Michael Flynn, Jeffrey Clark, and Peter Navarro. 

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Arizona Court of Appeals Rules Criminal Charges May Proceed Against Cochise County Supervisor Who Voted to Delay Canvassing 2022 Election Results

A panel on the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last Wednesday that Attorney General Kris Mayes’ prosecution of Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby for delaying canvassing of the 2022 election may proceed. Crosby, along with Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd, was indicted for felonies by a grand jury in November 2023 for briefly delaying canvassing of the 2022 election in order to investigate concerns with the voting machine tabulators. Judd accepted a plea agreement two months ago for a misdemeanor charge of failing to perform her duty as an election officer and was sentenced to probation.

State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and Speaker of the House Ben Toma (R-Peoria) filed an Amicus Curiae brief opposing the prosecution last March.

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Texas Supreme Court Ends Texas State Bar’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Against AG Ken Paxton’s Top Deputy over His Efforts to Secure Elections

The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday dismissing the State Bar of Texas’s (SBT) four-year-long attempt to discipline Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, calling it an “egregious invasion of the attorney general’s authority.” Webster assisted Paxton with combating election wrongdoing in the 2020 election, which included filing the lawsuit Texas v. Pennsylvania over the election irregularities in four states in 2020, which was joined by 21 other states.

Paxton, who is facing similar charges from the SBT, posted on X, “After four years of lawfare and political retaliation, the Texas Supreme Court has ended this witch hunt against the leadership of my office. The Texas State Bar attempted to punish us for fighting to secure our national elections, but we did not and will not ever back down from doing what is right. We have seen this playbook used against President Trump and other effective fighters for the American people and I am pleased that this attempt to stop our work has been defeated.”

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Trump’s Former DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Has Oral Argument Appealing Recommendation to Suspend His Law License

Jeffery Clark

Oral arguments took place last month in the appeal by Donald Trump’s former Department of Justice Jeffrey Clark over a recommendation suspending his law license for two years due to his efforts advising Trump on 2020 election irregularities. A three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility (BPR) found him culpable on August 1 of violating attorney ethics rules due to drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options in dealing with the irregularities. 

The Washington D.C. Bar’s counsel, Hamilton Fox, who is pressing to disbar Clark as a “threat to democracy,” gave the argument for the bar to eight members of the BPR. Fox referred to the letter Clark drafted as a “false letter,” since the officials above him decided not to send it. One of the attorney members on the BPR responded that attorney ethics rules don’t prohibit attorneys from disagreeing with their superiors.

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Judicial Watch Alleges Collusion Between Fulton County DA Fani Willis and the January 6 Committee to Prosecute Trump, Republicans

Fani Willis and Nathan Wade

The legal integrity organization Judicial Watch (JW) announced on December 10 that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was prosecuting Donald Trump and several prominent Republicans over their concerns about election fraud in Georgia’s 2020 election until she was removed earlier this month for “impropriety,” colluded with the Biden administration to conduct the prosecutions. The group has been repeatedly stonewalled in its attempts, including litigation, to obtain public records from Willis’ office revealing any coordination.

“Judicial Watch and a state court forced Fani Willis to confirm additional documents exist about her collusion with the partisan Pelosi January 6 Committee to ‘get Trump,’” JW President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “But Willis, citing legal exemptions for a prosecution that’s essentially dead in the water, now wants to hide these records from the American public. Judicial Watch plans to push back in court against this disingenuous secrecy.”

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Kari Lake Posts on X That She Will Not be Running for Office Again, Will Work for Trump in Media Position Leading Voice of America

Kari Lake

Less than a month after being offered a job by incoming President Donald Trump heading up the Voice of America (VOA), Kari Lake announced on X that she will not be running for office again. Instead, she accepted the job heading up the journalism position with the Trump administration. Many believe that progressive activists conducted illegal election activity to defeat her in both the 2022 election race for governor and the 2024 race for U.S. Senate.

“We know the movement that we have in Arizona, and I will never take that for granted,” she posted on Elon Musk’s social media platform on Saturday. “But there is a corrupt machine here that is hellbent on making sure I never hold office. So, I won’t put my family (and myself) through the torture of running again. I will go to Washington, D.C., return @VOANews to its glory days, and help President Trump Make America Great Again.”

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Article III Project’s Mike Davis Suggests Attorney General Kris Mayes Could Go to Prison

Mike Davis, AG Kris Mayes

Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is prosecuting the alternate electors for Donald Trump from 2020 as well as Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby for delaying the canvassing of that election due to election irregularities, may find herself on the other side of prosecution. Founder Mike Davis of the Article III Project, which defends constitutionalist judges and the rule of law, posted on X that Mayes could go to prison due to obstructing the incoming president.

He said, “Dear @AZAGMayes: You disenfranchised AZ voters and stole your election from @AbrahamHamadeh. Now you’re plotting to overturn the will of American voters and illegally obstruct President Trump’s immigration mandate? Want to go to prison? 8 U.S.C. § 132.” 

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Appeals Court Reverses Obama-Appointed Trial Court Judge Who Ruled That Phoenix Police Used Excessive Force Against Trump Protesters

Judge John J. Tuchi

A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by an Obama-appointed judge which found that the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) used “excessive force” dealing with violent protesters outside of a Donald Trump rally in 2017. The court’s opinion, issued last Thursday, found that U.S. District Court Judge John J. Tuchi incorrectly applied Fourth Amendment law to analyze claims from three protesters who were hit with projectiles.

Trump held a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on August 22, 2017. A “Free Speech Zone” was set up for protesters, but the PPD was forced to intervene when they became violent. The opinion said the police used “tear gas, other chemical irritants, and flash-bang grenades” to deter the rioters. 

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DOJ Finds That Tennessee Attorney Regulatory Boards Discriminated Against Lawyers for Using Opioid Disorder Medications

Tennessee Supreme Court

The Department of Justice issued a Letter of Findings to the Tennessee Supreme Court determining that two attorney regulatory agencies in Tennessee discriminated against lawyers applying to be admitted to the practice of law for undergoing treatment for opioid addiction. The DOJ found that the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners (TBLE) and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) violated Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 

The DOJ conducted the investigation in response to complaints from two attorney applicants, known as D.S. and C.B. D.S. has since identified himself to the press as Derek Scott, who passed the Tennessee State Bar exam in 2021. The DOJ concluded that two aspects of the agencies’ conduct violated the ADA:  “(1) subjecting bar applicants to burdensome supplemental investigations triggered by their status or treatment for a substance use disorder; and (2) excluding them or implementing burdensome, intrusive, and unnecessary conditions on admission that are improperly based on individuals’ diagnosis of or treatment for a substance use or mental health disorder.” 

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The Trump Administration May Prosecute Liz Cheney Based on the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee’s J6 Report

Liz Cheney

Former Congressional Republican Liz Cheney pursued conservatives during her work with Democrats on their J6 committee, but now the tables may be turning. The House Administration Oversight Subcommittee issued a report about the J6 committee last week, calling for the FBI to investigate Cheney and accusing her of two crimes. Cheney communicated with J6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson without going through Hutchinson’s attorney, and the report accused Cheney, who campaigned for Kamala Harris this past year after being soundly defeated for reelection in her primary race, of engaging in “procuring another person to commit perjury” and “witness tampering’.”

Donald Trump hinted at prosecuting Cheney after the report came out. He posted on TruthSocial, “Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble based on the evidence obtained by the subcommittee, which states that ‘numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, and these violations should be investigated by the FBI.”

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Trump Endorses Gina Swoboda for Reelection as Arizona Republican Party Chair During TPUSA’s AmericaFest

Gina Swoboda, Donald Trump

Likely ending what could have been a contentious race for chair of the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP), Donald Trump endorsed current chair Gina Swoboda during his speech at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest in Phoenix. State Rep. Cory McGarr (R-Tucson), who lost his reelection race even though there is a 10+ Republican voter registration advantage in his district, announced on December 12 in an X post that he was challenging Swoboda.

Swoboda, who was asked by Trump personally to run after Jeff DeWit was forced to step down, was elected to the office less than a year ago. Swoboda leads the Voter Reference Foundation (VRF), so Republican leaders felt it was imperative to put someone in the leadership position who understood election fraud and had experience combating it. She issued a statement after the endorsement, going over her record the past 11 months. 

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General Flynn, Harmeet Dhillon, Benny Johnson, and Jack Prosobiec Headline Second Day of TPUSA’s AmericaFest

AmericaFest 2024

The second day of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest kicked off Friday with more well-known conservatives in the movement speaking. Headlining the afternoon’s events were General Michael Flynn, Republican National Committee attorney Harmeet Dhillon, and commentators Benny Johnson and Jack Prosobiec. 

Flynn generated a round of laughter as he began his speech. “Are there any FBI agents out here?” referencing his previous experience being forced to step down as Trump’s nominee for National Security Advisor due to what many believe was a witch hunt by corrupt intelligence bureaucrats. “I can’t wait for Kash Patel!” Patel is Trump’s nominee for FBI director, who has vowed to go after corrupt Democrats. 

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Turning Point USA’s Annual AmericaFest Kicks Off with CEO Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, and Steve Bannon

Turning Point AmericaFest 2024

Thousands showed up for the first night of Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) annual AmericaFest Thursday evening in downtown Phoenix, in a festive mood celebrating Donald Trump’s presidential election win. The annual weekend event every December at the Phoenix Convention Center features talks by the top names in the conservative movement, with the biggest ones participating the first evening: TPUSA CEO and founder Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, and Steve Bannon. 

Kirk opened the event discussing how the MAGA movement has grown, especially on college campuses, which his youthful organization focuses on. He said people were afraid to wear MAGA hats in 2016, but now he visits campuses where everyone wants them. He said they handed out 5,000 hats at the University of Georgia recently. 

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Maricopa County Recorder Attempted to Have Conservative ASU Professor Fired over Social Media Posts, Lawsuit Claims

Aaron Ludwig

We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA), represented by Kari Lake’s former attorney Bryan Blehm, filed a lawsuit last week against outgoing Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer demanding records related to Richer allegedly attempting to get a conservative Arizona State University professor fired and disciplined by the State Bar of Arizona. WPAA requested an email between Richer and States United Democracy Center (SUDC), concerned that the far left activist group was aiding Richer in his attempt to get Aaron Ludwig fired.

The complaint asserted, “On July 31, 2022, Defendant Richer, acting as Maricopa County Recorder, sent an email to the Directors of ASU’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice seeking to have a faculty associate terminated from ASU for sharing a Tweet. … Defendant’s email also shows that the Recorder, in his capacity as Maricopa County Recorder, intended to seek sanctions against the faculty member through the State Bar of Arizona as the faculty member was also an attorney licensed to practice law in Arizona.” 

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Fountain Hills Democrats Attempt to Remove Republicans’ Christmas Tree from Community Center, Attempt ‘Inappropriate’ Replacements

Christmas Tree

Democratic activists in the Town of Fountain Hills objected to a Christmas tree decorated with Trump 2024 flags put up by the Republican Party in the town’s community center. The town refused to take the tree down, citing the First Amendment, so in protest, the Fountain Hills Democratic Club (FHDC) put up their own “inappropriate” replacement, a severed mask of Donald Trump’s head inside a wreath.

Fountain Hills Councilman Allen Skillicorn provided a statement to The Arizona Sun Times. “While I defend the Fountain Hills Democratic Club’s free speech, I am shocked by the inappropriate and out of touch behavior by FH Dem Club members,” he said. “The Grinch appears to reside in their hearts. The people of Arizona and Fountain Hills have rejected their sex toy ideology and devotion to confusing children. I defend their right to not believe in Christianity and the Holiday of Christ’s birth, but does that mean they should mock the faith of others? I invite the FH Dems to enjoy some eggnog and twinkly lights, but leave the Bah Humbug at home, behind closed doors.”

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Maricopa County Supervisors Vote to Give Antifa and BLM Protesters Arrested for Violence $6 Million for Attempting to Prosecute Them

BLM Protest Phoenix

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) unanimously approved a $6 million payout on Wednesday to Antifa and BLM protesters who were arrested and prosecuted for violence after the death of George Floyd during a riot in downtown Phoenix in 2020. After ABC-15 ran a series of videos critical of how law enforcement handled the protesters, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) dropped the charges, prompting a lawsuit by the protesters against the county and the City of Phoenix. The chief prosecutor on the case, April Sponsel, was fired and suspended from the practice of law for two years. 

Retired FBI Special Agent James E. Egelston of Baseline Investigations prepared a 161-page report for Maricopa County in June 2023 regarding the actions of Sponsel and the Phoenix Police officers involved. He stated, “During the march, protesters walked in the streets, blocked traffic, knocked over and dragged construction barricades into traffic lanes, threw smoke bombs in the path of police, repeatedly ignored commands from the police, and resisted arrest. One of the protesters was armed with a loaded rifle and a loaded handgun. Another protester carried a brick in a backpack.”

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Videos Reveal Extent of Illegal Immigrants Surging Across the Border with Biden’s CBP One Mobile App to Help Them Cross

RAV correspondent Ben Bergquam

Journalist Ben Bergquam of Real America’s Voice (RAV) took a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border recently, where he documented the surge in illegal immigrants coming across the border into the U.S. using the Biden administration’s CBP One mobile app. The app assists them with crossing the border illegally, allowing them to make appointments so a bus will drive them across instead of sneaking across, and they can then choose where they want to fly to within the U.S. 

During an interview with War Room’s Steve Bannon, Bergquam summarized the process. “There’s this entire operation — I call it the illegal alien industrial complex — where you’ve got our politicians working with United Nations, and all these NGOs working directly with the cartels in some cases, and often cases, especially in places like this — cartel-controlled territories of Mexico — working directly with them on who to send where, when to send them. So CBP One is used as a distraction. You take Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection resources off the border to process these guys, so then they can traffic all these other guys that are riding on the beast that are coming through all these other parts of the border.”

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More Details Emerging About the City of Tucson’s ‘Shocking’ Criminal Speeding Charges Against Conservative State Senator

State Sen Justine Wadsack

State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) is suing the City of Tucson for charging her with criminal speeding months after she was pulled over by a police officer and not given a ticket. Wadsack and her attorney Brad Miller, who is the incoming Pinal County Attorney, spoke to radio host Garrett Lewis last week during an interview about some new developments in the situation. Lewis asked Miller and Wadsack a series of questions about the “mythical speeding ticket that never existed.” 

The City of Tucson has been unable to provide any proof that Wadsack was speeding, neither from a radar gun nor the officer’s pacing, Miller said. A city attorney admitted they had no evidence. Miller conducted an interview with the Tucson Police officer who pulled Wadsack over and discovered that the officers “don’t provide any type of printout or scientific way to show that the radar guns are, first of all, working, and second, they cannot provide those to any alleged defendants at all.” Additionally, officers do not include everything they do in their reports, “so he purposely kept out pieces of information.” 

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Board Votes to Give Indicted Democratic Former Apache County, Arizona Attorney a $5,700 Monthly Pension

Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting

Arizona’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System voted to give Democratic former Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting a $5,700 monthly pension last month. Whiting was removed from office after a grand jury indicted him on multiple public corruption charges, centered around the misuse of public funds. 

The grand jury also indicted Whiting’s wife Joyclynn, who served as the county school superintendent, and Daryl Greer, the county attorney’s lead investigator, last August. Four of his key employees, including his Chief Deputy Celeste Robertson, obtained restraining orders against Whiting. On September 30, Whiting agreed to an interim suspension of his law license. As a result of the suspension, Attorney General Kris Mayes took over control of the office on November 1. 

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Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Against Adrian Fontes for Failing to Remove Up to 1.27 Million Ineligible Voters from Voter Rolls

Dominic Lanza, Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi, Republican businessman Steven Gaynor, Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda

U.S. District Court Judge Dominic Lanza dismissed a lawsuit challenging over a million ineligible voters on Arizona’s voter rolls, asserting that the plaintiffs had no standing. Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda, Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi, and Republican businessman Steven Gaynor filed the lawsuit against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes earlier this year. 

Legal commentator Robert Barnes said rejecting lawsuits based on standing is a legal practice that should not exist in the law. “[I]n some of the worst government abuses over the last century, the main doctrine cited for judicial abdication is standing,” he said, citing a law review article at Pepperdine School of Law. “The meaning of standing keeps involving over the decades since with the courts restricting the definition of injury and rewriting the meaning of causation to exclude most Constitutional injuries from judicial remedy wherever and whenever it politically pleased the courts to do so. As scholars concede: the standing doctrine is ‘so malleable’ that courts ‘routinely manipulate’ it depending on where a judge ‘wishes’ to reach the merits. The wild inconsistency and contradictions in standing doctrine reveal it for it really is: a Pontius Pilate pretext to wash their hands of the dirty deeds of government.”

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Two Legislators Request Attorney General Investigate ‘Disturbing Allegations’ in Pima County’s 2024 Election

State Representatives Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande) and Rachel Jones (R-Tucson)

State Representatives Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande) and Rachel Jones (R-Tucson) sent a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes last week requesting an investigation into three election problems in Pima County’s 2024 general election. They included two letters Jones and other legislators sent to Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly previously inquiring about “disturbing allegations” that her office encouraged convicted felons to vote, and how the office handled undeliverable ballots. Cazares-Kelly never responded to either letter. 

The Arizona Sun Times reached out to Martinez and Jones for comment. Both said they had not heard back yet from Mayes’ office, but would give her another week before pressing the matter. They will be putting in their own public records requests to Cazares-Kelly next week. Cazares-Kelly’s personal X account bio states that she is “dismantling white supremacy” and goes by the pronouns “She/Her.”

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California Doctor Sued for Having Minor’s Breasts Removed, Could Change State’s Radical Reputation for Transitioning Children

Johanna Olson Kennedy

A woman who had her breasts removed at age 14 as part of medical gender transitioning sued the California doctor and others involved in the transition.

Kaya Clementine Breen, who is now 20, sued Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy last week for medical negligence for putting her on puberty blockers, male hormones, and having a surgeon perform a double mastectomy. Breen has since “detransitioned and no longer identifies as a male.”

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Arizona Supreme Court Declines to Restrict State Bar of Arizona from Using Members’ Dues for Political Purposes

Lawyers

The Arizona Supreme Court adopted an amended version of a rule on Tuesday to separate the State Bar of Arizona’s regulatory and non-regulatory functions.

The think tank sought to end the practice of the mandatory state bar using attorneys’ dues for political purposes. However, the state’s highest court also included an amendment that gutted the rule. The changes to R-24-0030 Rules 32(b) and (c), Rules of the state Supreme Court, will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

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Stephen Richer Joins Kamala Harris Advisor, Others to Form New Moderate Republican Group: ‘Conservative Agenda for Arizona’

Stephen Richer

A new moderate Republican group, Conservative Agenda for Arizona (CAA), emerged recently in Arizona. Its leadership and advisory board are mainly Republicans associated with the party’s moderate wing, including outgoing Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.

Richer started a PAC for GOP fraud deniers soon after he took office and said during the Republican primary this year that he intended to vote for Joe Biden instead of Donald Trump for president.

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Bar Complaint Filed Against Liz Cheney for Communicating with J6 Witness Represented by an Attorney

Former Rep. Liz Cheney

Representing Donald Trump’s former head ethics deputy counsel Stefan Passantino, America First Legal (AFL) filed a bar complaint recently against former Rep. Liz Cheney for secretly communicating with a key J6 witness. Passantino represented Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who Cheney held secret discussions with over the encrypted messaging app Signal, despite the fact she was represented by Passantino in J6 matters. 

House Administration Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk released a report on October 15 that prompted the complaint. He said, “[A]ccording to text messages between Hutchinson and Farah Griffin obtained by the Subcommittee, Cheney agreed to communicate with Hutchinson through Farah Griffin. However, it appears that Cheney knew communicating with Hutchinson while Hutchinson was represented by an attorney and a subject of the Select Committee’s investigation without going through Hutchinson’s attorney would be unethical. This is evident by Farah Griffin’s test of Hutchinson that Cheney’s ‘one concern was so long ad [sic] you have counsel, she can’t really ethically talk to you without him.’” 

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Leftist Group Provided Legal Blueprint for Attorney General Kris Mayes to Prosecute Arizona’s 2020 Alternate Electors for Trump

Kris Mayes

The far-left States United Democracy Center (SUDC) provided a 47-page legal memo to Attorney General Kris Mayes on July 25, 2023, the Daily Signal reported last week, outlining a plan for her to prosecute the alternate electors for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election and a few others associated with the effort.

Mayes is currently prosecuting most of those listed in the memo. Despite President-elect Donald Trump winning the 2024 election earlier this month, Mayes said she will not stop the prosecutions, unlike some other prosecutors who are backing off on their Trump-related prosecutions.

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Arizona Man Arrested for Profanity-Laden Death Threats to Donald Trump and His Family

Police with ATF

An Arizona man was arrested by federal authorities Monday for posting threats online against Donald Trump and his family. Prosecutors charged Manuel Tamayo-Torres on Tuesday with one count of Threats Against President and Successors to the Presidency and four counts of False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm. Tamayo-Torres attempted to purchase a firearm as a convicted felon with a restraining order. 

According to the charging documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Tamayo-Torres said in a profanity-laden video posted on Facebook a few days ago that the “the former president and current president-elect,” his son and family are “gonna die … I’m going to put a hole in your face.” He also threatened to torture Trump. “I’m going to f****** kill you motherf*****,” he said. “I’m going to tear your motherf****** face out, your whole motherf****** face.” 

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Conservative Florida Attorney Chris Crowley Continues Battling Suspension of His Law License over Political Speech

Florida Attorney Chris Crowley

Florida attorney Chris Crowley filed a Cross-Answer/Reply Brief with the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month in his appeal challenging the suspension of his law license for 60 days.

A Referee for the Florida Bar disciplined him for engaging in political speech while he campaigned for the state attorney’s office in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit due to referring to his opponent as “corrupt” and “swampy” and for observing that she had “close family ties to the [Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)] terrorist organization.”

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Arizona Freedom Caucus Calls Out Democrats for Choosing Communist-Endorsed Legislative Leadership

Arizona State Senate Democrat Leader, Priya Sundareshan, and House Democrat Leader, Oscar De Los Santos

The Arizona Freedom Caucus (AFC) issued a statement earlier this month congratulating Democrats in the Arizona Legislature for choosing communist-supported leadership. The four top Democratic leadership positions were filled by progressives who were endorsed by the Working Families Party (WFP), which is closely tied to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).

AFC said in its statement, “In the aftermath of a historic electoral repudiation of Democrats’ ever-increasing radicalism, the Arizona Freedom Caucus was both shocked and pleased by the absolute tone-deafness of Senate and House Democrats choosing 50% of their legislative leaders who are irrefutably endorsed by Communists.” 

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Two State Legislators Challenge Sedona’s Ordinance Banning Firearms on ‘Any Trail or Open Space Area’

State Rep. Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) and State Rep. Selina Bliss (R-Prescott) are challenging an ordinance in Sedona which bans firearms on “any trail or open space area.” The legislators believe the law infringes on the right to keep and bear arms, since Arizona has some of the most Second Amendment-friendly laws in the country. They submitted a request to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to investigate, known as an SB 1487 request for investigation, which prompted Sedona city officials to put it on the agenda for the December 10 city council meeting. 

Nguyen, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and has held positions with the Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Club, said in a joint statement with Bliss after submitting the 1487 request, “I urge the City of Sedona to review Ordinance 12.30.090 to ensure it complies with Arizona law. It’s important that local ordinances do not infringe upon the constitutional rights of Arizonans or conflict with state statutes.”

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