First-term Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has filed paperwork to create a legal defense fund following an ethics complaint and allegations of sexual misconduct leveled by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL-13).
Read the full storyCategory: The West
Attorney General Ken Paxton Issues Demands to Nearly 30 North Texas Businesses in H-1B Visa Fraud Probe
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Thursday his office is issuing Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to nearly 30 North Texas businesses as part of an ongoing investigation into H1-B visa fraud and exploitation of the federal program.
Read the full storyTexas State Board of Education Approves Draft Statewide Required Reading List that Includes Bible Excerpts
The Texas State Board of Education on Thursday gave preliminary 9-1 approval to a pared-down mandatory literary works list for all public school students in grades K-12, including multiple Bible passages and stories presented as required reading.
Read the full storyVideo Shows Arizona Center Processing Ballots in Manner That Alarmed Congress’ Monitors
Video footage captured by congressional observers shows a third-party election vendor in Arizona’s largest county processing live ballots and performing signature verification in 2024 far away from the official Maricopa County election center where bipartisan monitors witness such activities, a discovery that prompted the observers to file a formal report alleging “alarming” concerns.
The video obtained by Just the News depicts a visit by one Republican and one Democratic congressional staffer to a third-party printing company responsible for conducting signature verification on ballots during the 2024 election.
Read the full storyJustice Department Official Says She Personally Observed ‘Incompetence’ in Maricopa Elections
The senior U.S. Justice Department official leading a campaign to force states to clean up their voter rolls said she personally witnessed either “incompetence” or “malfeasance” in Maricopa County during past elections where she served as an election lawyer.
Maricopa County, Arizona, home to the state’s largest city, Phoenix, was recently forced to turn over election records to the FBI pursuant to a grand jury subpoena.
Read the full storyFBI Releases Doorbell Video, Images of Armed Potential Subject in Nancy Guthrie Case
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released newly recovered Nest doorbell video and surveillance images showing an armed individual outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing on February 1.
Read the full storyWashington State Prison Officials Admit Men Lie About Being ‘Trans’ to Live in Women’s Prison
Washington state prison officials privately acknowledged that “trans” women who are biological men could have more sinister motives for wanting to be housed with females.
Read the full storyAnalysis: California Governor Newsom’s ‘National Model’ for Homeless Wracked by Fraud
Gov. Gavin Newsom has made reducing the homelessness crisis in California a top priority, saying the scale of the state’s efforts is “unprecedented” and calling for the continued expansion of his signature effort – Project Homekey – that has already cost $3.75 billion.
Read the full storyEconomic Woes, High Costs Fuel GOP’s Bold New Push to Divide California
Republicans are calling for 35 inland counties to secede from California and create a new state.
The GOP announced the plan Wednesday as their response to Democrats’ congressional redistricting efforts.
Read the full storyPublic Schools Closing as Arizona Parents Turn to Alternate Options Using the State’s Market Competition ESA Program
Arizona has one of the highest rated school choice systems in the country as a result of its universal Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs). Due to implementing this market competition fully in 2022 to all students, parents are pulling their children out of the public schools and placing them in private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling them instead. The exodus has led to numerous public school closures around the state.
The Common Sense Institute (CSI) found in January that Arizona’s public school enrollment peaked a few years ago and will lose 40,000 students by 2028. During the 2020-21 school year, public school enrollment declined by more than 50,000 students, while enrollment in charter schools increased by 12,000 and enrollment in traditional private schools increased by about 11,000 students. Homeschoolers are at 6 percent of the student population. A 2024 report from the Learning Policy Institute found that 52 percent of students using ESAs have never been enrolled in public education.
Read the full storyRepublicans Increase Their Voter Registration Edge over Democrats in Arizona
The Secretary of State released voter registration numbers for the second quarter of 2025, revealing that Republicans made slight gains over Democrats, increasing their 7 percent voter registration advantage statewide as well as in Maricopa County. Despite the perception Arizona is becoming more Democratic due to Democrats winning major offices since 2020, Republicans have been expanding their voter registration advantage over Democrats since then.
The new figures reveal that Republicans are at 35.74 percent of the electorate statewide compared to 28.41 percent for Democrats. Independents maintained their lead over Democrats as well, at 34.13 percent. The figures for Maricopa County almost exactly mirror the state figures, with Republicans at 35.29 percent and Democrats at 28.01 percent. Independents are at 34.87 percent.
Read the full storyFTC Ends ‘Years of Coordinated Lawfare’ Against Nation’s Largest Christian University
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously to drop a lawsuit against the largest Christian university in the country, Grand Canyon University (GCU). Under the Biden administration, the FTC filed the lawsuit in late 2023, alleging that GCU engaged in deceptive business practices with its doctoral programs. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) previously removed GCU’s nonprofit status in 2019, fining the school $37 million. Although the fine was rescinded earlier this year, the ED has not yet restored its nonprofit status.
All parties filed a joint Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice with the court after a judge dismissed the lawsuit.
Read the full storyJudge Strikes Down Republican Legislature’s Budget for Public School Funding, Ignores Careless Spending
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain D. Fox issued a ruling on Tuesday finding that the Arizona Legislature did not provide enough funding for public schools. The decision in Glendale Elementary School District, et al. v. State of Arizona was the result of a lawsuit filed in 2017 by a group of school districts and left-leaning educational organizations. The Arizona Legislature intends to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.
The lawsuit alleged that the state shorted schools for capital funding for school maintenance, buses, textbooks, and technology for over 10 years. The school districts that sued were Chino Valley Unified, Elfrida Elementary, Crane Elementary, and Glendale Elementary.
Read the full storyThe Arizona Republic’s Top Progressive Journalists Reportedly Accept Buyouts to Leave
Arizona Agenda reported on Wednesday that The Arizona Republic, which is owned by media conglomerate Gannett Co. Inc., has reportedly bought out its most well-known journalists with voluntary severance agreements due to a lack of money.
The outlet, which labeled it a “bloodbath,” said The Republic is also moving its printing operations out of state.
Read the full storyASU President Pressured Arizona PBS to Give Katie Hobbs Free Airtime After Refusing to Debate Kari Lake
New emails show that Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow pressured Arizona PBS to offer gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs an interview after Hobbs refused to debate Republican Kari Lake — even though it went against the rules of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, which hosts political debates. One of Crow’s aides, former publisher of The Arizona Republic Mi-Ai Parrish, told the debate sponsor that it was wrong to give an “election denier” a platform for the debate. Crow has a long history of pushing a progressive agenda at ASU. The scandal has become known as DebateGate.
Read the full storyMainstream Media Laments Trump’s Tariffs Will Increase AriZona Iced Tea Prices
The mainstream media is running articles expressing concern that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will cause the price of AriZona Iced Tea to increase from its price of 99 cents, which has been in place since 1997. The corporation’s co-founder, Don Vultaggio, said the cost will likely increase due to Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports imposed on June 4, which Trump had previously implemented in his first term, and raised to 25 percent in February.
Despite its name, AriZona’s main production sites aren’t located in Arizona, but in Canada, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Vernon, California. The company’s headquarters are in Woodbury, New York.
Read the full storyRepresentative Abe Hamadeh Introduces Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility (PROVE) Act
Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) introduced a bill in Congress that would crack down on loopholes allowing election fraud through overseas ballots. The Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility (PROVE) Act amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to require non-military U.S. citizens living abroad to prove current residency in the state where they intend to vote.
Hamadeh said in a press release, “39 states, including key swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, permit people who have never resided in the U.S. to vote in state elections, undermining the integrity of the electoral process.”
Read the full storyEthics Complaint Filed Against State Senator for ‘Openly Impeding’ Deportation Efforts, State Senate President Calls for DOJ Investigation
Republican state senators are taking action against State Senator Analise Ortiz (D-Phoenix) after she alerted her followers on social media to the location of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Ortiz posted on her Instagram page, “There is confirmed HSI presence near 67th Ave and Peoria, behind the Walmart. Peoria Police are also involved. Many agents are not in uniform and vehicles may be unmarked. We are still working on getting full details, but out of caution, we advise those at risk of detention or deportation to avoid the area.”
Read the full storyElection Integrity Expert Criticizes Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ New Draft of Election Procedures Manual
Merissa Hamilton, who runs the grassroots election integrity organization EZAZ, voiced her concerns last week about Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ proposed revisions to the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM),
As required by state law, the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS) is required to update the EPM every other year.
Read the full storyConservative Former Maricopa County Assessor Develops Stage 3b Kidney Disease in Prison After Lawfare
Conservative former Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen, who is serving time in prison related to his work helping mothers from the Marshallese Islands adopt their children out to American parents, has developed kidney disease in prison. It was first diagnosed as stage 2 a few months ago, but has now progressed to stage 3b, which is generally irreversible. The 49-year-old lawyer, who previously chaired the Arizona Chapter of the International Association of Assessing Officers where he was beloved, is on a catheter and has a painful blockage in his intestines, but officials will not release him to home confinement, despite the fact he has earned extensive credit in prison.
Tom Freestone, a longtime respected politician in Arizona who served as a judge, in the Arizona Legislature, and 10 years on the Pardon and Parole Board (later known as the Board of Executive Clemency), told The Arizona Sun Times that Petersen, who has no prior criminal history, is a “safe release” so should not remain imprisoned but released to home arrest.
Read the full storyMSM Group Lodges Bar Complaint Against FCC Chair Over Trump’s Paramount Settlement Tied to Edited ’60 Minutes’ Harris Interview
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), whose board members include progressive actor John Cusack, filed a bar complaint against the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, related to his involvement in a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump that Paramount Global was ordered to pay due to selectively editing an interview with Kamala Harris that aired on CBS. The complaint alleged that the FCC hinged approval of Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media on the settlement, since the approval came shortly after the settlement. However, the activity Carr is accused of is unrelated to the practice of law.
The bar complaint was filed on July 28 with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals’ Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which is currently in the process seeking to disbar Trump’s official Jeffrey Clark over the 2020 election, along with disciplining other Trump-associated attorneys. FPF accused Carr of violating several vague, broad bar ethics rules typically used to target conservative attorneys, that prohibit dishonesty, prejudicial conduct, and abuse of public office for political gain.
Read the full storyElection Group Asks DOJ to Investigate Alleged ‘Magic Mortgage’ Money Laundering Scheme Linked to ActBlue and Donors
The Election Fairness Institute (EFI), led by State Senator Mark Finchem (R-Prescott), identified what it believes is a money laundering scheme involving the Democratic political fundraising platform ActBlue, which EFI is referring to as “magic mortgages.”
EFI, a public interest nonprofit, said bad actors have potentially committed campaign finance violations and tax evasion, with possible ties to bulk cash smuggling. Several U.S. attorneys have expressed interest in investigating.
Read the full storySecretary of State Adrian Fontes Walks Out of Candidate Forum with Republican Challenger Alex Kolodin
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes refused to answer questions from Arizonans at a candidate forum event.
The Yavapai County Farm Bureau hosted the event on Sunday at a farm in Dewey-Humboldt for Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS) candidates Fontes and his Republican challenger, Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), an election attorney.
Read the full storyArizona Ranked No. 2 State in the Country for Parental Control over Education
The Parent Power Index from the Center for Education Reform (CER) ranked Arizona as the second-best state in the country for parental control over education. Florida beat Arizona out for the top spot, and both states were the only two states to receive “A” grades.
CER said, “Arizona, holding strong at 2nd with an A-, continues to blaze trails in education freedom. Universal ESAs and a thriving charter sector make the Grand Canyon State a beacon for personalized learning nationwide.”
Read the full storyAmerica First Legal Files Petition with Federal Election Agency to Require Proof of Citizenship to Register to Vote in Elections
America First Legal (AFL) filed a petition with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) last week urging the agency to require documented proof of citizenship (DPOC) in order to register to vote in elections. If the EAC doesn’t take action on it, federal law allows the requesting party to sue the agency.
“America First Legal will not stand by while our elections are undermined by loopholes and an ‘honor system’ that invites fraud,” said Senior Counsel James Rogers. “The right to vote is the sacred privilege of American citizens — period. We are demanding that the EAC fulfill its duty to the American people by requiring real, documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections. Anything less is an open invitation for illegal voting and a betrayal of our democracy.
Read the full storyFBI, DHS Investigating Cyber Attack on Arizona’s Election System
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes acknowledged in a press release earlier this month that possible foreign actors conducted a cyber attack on the candidate portal of the secretary of state’s (AZSOS) website. Fontes downplayed the hacking, and didn’t indicate whether the hackers were successful or not.
State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), founder and chair of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, posted his concern about Fontes’ dismissive press release on X. “July 1st press release looks like a MASSIVE cover up. FBI & DHS (at least!) now involved. A private briefing was held TODAY and legislators have confirmed that a ‘foreign cyberattack on AZ’s election system occurred.’ The public is totally in the dark. Adrian Fontes is lying!”
Read the full storyGovernor Katie Hobbs Creates Two New Jobs Paying Almost $600,000 for ‘Cronies’ in ‘Duplicative’ Positions, While Others are Laid Off
Governor Katie Hobbs is coming under criticism for paying two political cronies high salaries in positions that some allege duplicate existing jobs. At the same time, the agency she placed them at, the Department of Economic Security, laid off 5 percent of its full-time employees due to cuts in federal government funding.
State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), chair and founder of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, denounced Hobbs on X. “Katie Hobbs’ jaw-dropping nearly $600,000 handout of taxpayer money to a former Democrat politician and her assistant for newly invented jobs reeks of corruption,” he said. “It’s sickening that Hobbs continues to treat Arizona’s government like her personal friends-and-family slush fund, doling out lavish six-figure salaries to political cronies.”
Read the full storyProgressive Groups Funded by George Soros to Hold Protest Against President Trump in Phoenix, Nationwide
Progressive groups gathered in Phoenix and other cities across the nation on Thursday to protest President Donald Trump’s policies.
Read the full storyTrump Administration Cuts $59 Million in Grants to the University of Arizona Designated for Progressive Projects
The Trump administration halted 64 grants the federal government was giving to the University of Arizona (UA), totaling $59.2 million, according to AZPM.
Funding was cut for projects such as integrating Indigenous knowledge into geoscience education at Grand Canyon National Park and addressing racial inequity in STEM education.
Read the full storyRecall Election Set for Mesa City Council Member Julie Spilsbury
The Mesa City Council set a date for a recall election of one of its members, Julie Spilsbury, who will face off November 4 against a candidate selected by her opponents. Spilsbury, a Republican, angered conservatives by endorsing Democrats Kamala Harris for president and Ruben Gallego for Senate, and taking other positions with Democrats. The powerful Turning Point Action helped collect signatures for the recall.
Disappointed constituents collected 3,858 verified signatures to automatically trigger the recall. Voters in her District 2, which includes central and east Mesa, will decide the election.
Read the full storyArizona AG Silent as Deadline Nears to Respond to Allegations of Misappropriation of Phoenix Taxpayer Funds
The Goldwater Institute (GI) sent a letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes recently demanding to know whether the City of Phoenix illegally gave at least $28.5 million of taxpayer funds to over 100 private organizations with little to no oversight. The letter was prompted by an investigation conducted by State Representative David Marshall (R-Snowflake), along with State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) and State Representative Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake), who initiated a back-and-forth exchange with city officials about the alleged wrongdoing.
“This effectively turns large portions of the city’s budget into a patchwork of slush funds that special interests can access in the sole discretion of a single city employee,” GI said in an article about the subsidies.
Read the full storyFederal Government to Investigate Election Irregularities, Possibly in Arizona
Just a few weeks after President Donald Trump called for a special prosecutor to investigate election irregularities in the 2020 election, another agency is announcing its own investigation.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s (ODNI) new Directors Initiatives’ Group (DIG) plans to look into election vulnerabilities in the 2020 and 2022 elections, which may include Arizona’s elections.
Read the full storyWatchdog Slams Mainstream Media for Selective ‘Hottest Day’ Climate Change Claims
New analysis by an environmental watchdog finds that mainstream media selectively report high temperatures from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to bolster climate change claims, while overlooking lower readings from other local weather stations and historical data showing significant temperature variability. Steven Milloy, an environmental and public health consultant, challenged the narrative of unprecedented heat on his platform JunkScience.com, highlighting discrepancies in temperature reporting and the influence of urban heat island effects.
Read the full storyDeath Toll Nears 100 in Kerr County Alone as of Monday
At least 99 people were killed in Kerry County, Texas, during historic Independence Day flooding.
As of Monday morning, officials have identified 75 deceased in Kerr County, including 48 adults and 27 children. Fifteen adults and 9 children are pending identification.
Read the full storyAll 444 Maricopa County Tabulators Failed EAC Standards in 2022 Election, Group Claims
The grassroots election group We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA) issued a video recently going over the problems with the printers and ballot tabulating machines in Arizona’s 2022 election, where there were extensive tabulator misreads. Shelby Busch, who heads WPAA, and her co-host Bryan Blehm, who previously represented Kari Lake in an election lawsuit, interviewed Dr. Walter Daugherity, a senior lecturer emeritus for the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M, who graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a degree in Mathematics, and then later earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University.
According to Busch, not one tabulator out of the 444 tabulators in Maricopa County’s 2022 election met the Election Assistance (EAC) standards due to every one of them encountering problems reading ballots. Those standards allow for an error rate of .2 percent, or one in 500 ballots. However, after litigation from Lake, the courts refused to redo the election.
Read the full storyArizona Court Allows First Case in State’s History to Pursue a Constitutional Damages Claim Against a Private Organization
A court is allowing a constitutional lawsuit to go ahead against the Arizona Association of Realtors (AAR) by a realtor whom the AAR disciplined for posting conservative memes on social media. This is the first time in the state’s history that a constitutional claim has been allowed against a private organization, according to Ryan Heath, realtor Chad DeVries’ attorney.
Heath wrote on his Substack, “Because the court has permitted his due process claims to proceed, DeVries has now successfully advanced a novel legal theory: that AAR’s control over access to the real estate profession makes it subject to constitutional due process requirements, even though it is a private entity.”
Read the full storyElection Integrity Champion Legislator Alex Kolodin Campaigns for Arizona Secretary of State
State Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), an election attorney, is running for Arizona Secretary of State against Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes.
He held a campaign fundraising event in north Scottsdale last week to explain his plan to bring back election integrity to the office.
Read the full storyTown of Fountain Hills Selects Election Integrity Champion as Town Attorney
The Fountain Hills Town Council selected election integrity attorney Jennifer Wright earlier this month as their town attorney on contract.
The town’s previous legal representation resigned after accusations arose regarding their billing practices. Wright previously served as the civil attorney for the Arizona Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit, and afterwards represented both Kari Lake and Abe Hamadeh in their election challenges.
Read the full storyAmerica First Legal Sends Letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, Accusing Her of Violating Attorney Ethics Rules
America First Legal (AFL) sent a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell last week informing her that her legal analysis stating that AFL cannot represent Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap in his lawsuit against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) is incorrect.
AFL copied the State Bar of Arizona in its letter, accusing her of violating three attorney ethics rules and demanding she “issue a retraction to all journalists to whom you sent your letter, delete any public posts of the letter, and post a public apology on X and your office’s website acknowledging your mistake.”
Read the full storyTop Political Leaders Show Support at Senate President Warren Petersen’s West Valley Kickoff for Attorney General
Over a couple hundred people attended a rally Thursday evening in the West Valley for Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa), who is running for attorney general against Kris Mayes. The event, which was held at TYR Tactical, featured numerous prominent politicians, showing that Republicans are coalescing around Petersen early on.
Jason Beck, mayor of Peoria and founder and owner of TYR Tactical, opened the event telling the crowd that his company makes all the vests for ICE, prompting loud cheering. Beck said he started the company 26 years ago and grew it to a size where he can use it to “reach out to conservatives” and “host people.”
Read the full storyCourt Upholds Recommendation to Disbar Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman
The State Bar of California’s (SBC) Review Department upheld a recommendation by the bar disciplinary judge to disbar John Eastman, President Donald Trump’s former attorney.
Eastman was disbarred for representing Trump in his legal challenges related to the 2020 election. The court agreed with California Bar Disciplinary Judge Yvette Roland, who has a history of donating to Democrats while serving on the bench, that Eastman was guilty of numerous counts of “moral turpitude,” a broad, vague attorney ethics rule typically used to target conservatives.
Read the full storyMaricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, an Election Integrity Champion, Sues Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over Usurping His Office
After months of unsuccessfully attempting to recover key parts of his office back from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS), Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, who was elected on an election integrity platform last year, filed a lawsuit against the MCBOS. Represented by America First Legal (AFL), he demanded back control over early voting, ballot drop boxes, his IT department, and the ability to speed up ballot tabulation, areas that were negotiated away from him last fall by previous recorder Stephen Richer, an election fraud denier.
“The Board of Supervisors’ bad faith tactics in the SSA negotiation, compounded by their unanimous May 19 budget vote to cement the Board’s seizure of my statutory duties through the budget process is deeply disappointing, forcing us to take this issue to court,” Heap said in a statement. “Despite their repeated misinformation and gaslighting of the public on these issues, defending the civil right to free, fair, and honest elections for every Maricopa County voter isn’t simply my job as County Recorder, it’s the right thing to do and a mission I’m fully committed to achieving.”
Read the full storyReps. Andy Biggs, Elijah Crane, Juan Ciscomani, and Tony Gonzales Urge Commerce Not to Cancel Tomato Suspension Agreement
Three Congressmen from Arizona, along with a Texas Congressman, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) on Wednesday urging Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick not to terminate the Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA). The DOC announced its intent to withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement with Mexico on April 14, 2025, with termination effective July 14, 2025. This will result in 20.91 percent tariffs on tomatoes from Mexico.
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Elijah Crane (R-AZ-02), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), and Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) warned that up to 50,000 jobs will be lost in Arizona and Texas if the TSA is terminated. Critics contended that Mexico was dumping its tomatoes at rates lower than fair market price on the U.S. market, so should be required to pay the 20.91 percent tariff penalty for dumping.
Read the full storyArizona GOP Files Brief Supporting Trump’s Election Integrity Order
The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) submitted an amicus curiae brief in May supporting Trump’s Executive Order 14248 addressing election wrongdoing, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”
U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed to her position by President Bill Clinton, has already temporarily blocked part of the order requiring documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register to vote.
Read the full storyGrassroots Group Investigates 2022 Arizona Attorney General’s Race, Concludes Improprieties Helped Mayes Win
The grassroots organization We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA) presented a video review last week of election improprieties in the 2022 election, stating that it believes these improprieties contributed to Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ victory over Republican Abe Hamadeh by 280 votes.
Shelby Busch, who leads WPAA, and WPAA’s attorney Bryan Blehm, who represented Kari Lake in her election challenges, said they believe thousands of votes were not counted for Hamadeh, including 9,000 that have been destroyed.
Read the full storyGovernor Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill to Limit Chinese Ownership of Land Near Military Bases, Bill Sponsor Slams Her ‘Self-serving, Hyper-partisan Track Record’
Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs continues her record number of vetoes, vetoing SB 1109, which would have prohibited China from buying up land next to military bases and other strategic assets. Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp (R-Surprise), the bill stated that China “may not purchase, own, acquire by grant or devise or have a substantial interest in real property in this state.”
In a letter to the Arizona Legislature, Hobbs claimed the bill was “ineffective at counter-espionage” and did not directly protect military assets. “Additionally, it lacks clear implementation criteria and opens the door to arbitrary enforcement,” she said.
Read the full storyMaricopa County Republican Committee EGC Votes Unanimously to Demand the DOJ Investigate the State Bar of Arizona
The Executive Guidance Committee (EGC) of the Maricopa County Republican Committee unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to “[i]mmediately commence an [i]nvestigation of the State Bar of Arizona [SBA].” The resolution, which was enacted by nearly 100 members present, comes after Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN), Phoenix Metro chapter, also urged the DOJ to investigate the SBA due to its targeting of conservative, minority, and other attorneys.
The resolution focused on the SBA’s disbarment of former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who “was the only Maricopa County Attorney who has ever fully enforced the state’s laws against illegal immigration, resulting in illegal immigrants leaving the state in droves while he and Sheriff Arpaio were in office.” It said “the State Bar of Arizona was weaponized for this purpose against Mr. Thomas and his deputies, prosecutors Lisa Aubuchon and Rachel Alexander, by seeking his disbarment through the use of ‘lawfare’ and a sham trial similar to what our great President Donald Trump has been forced to endure.”
Read the full storyConservative National Legislative Group Launches New Task Force to Implement Election Integrity
The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) launched a new task force to address election integrity earlier this month. ALEC drafts model legislation for state legislators to propose around the country, such as the Safeguard American Votes and Election Act stopping Ranked Choice Voting, and its new Process and Procedures Task Force intends to expand these efforts.
West Virginia Senator Patricia Rucker, the chair of ALEC, and Lisa B. Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of ALEC, published an op-ed in the Daily Caller on Wednesday announcing the task force. In an article titled, “We’re Going To Protect Elections Whether The Left Likes It Or Not,” they said the task force will “develop trusted policy solutions to ensure elections work for the American people.”
Read the full storyOver 1,000 Attend Turning Point Action Rally for Andy Biggs for Governor
Although the 2026 election is 16 months out, Turning Point Action (TPA) held a rally on Saturday for Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), who is running for governor against incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs. The event at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa featured multiple top officials in both Arizona and nationally, including Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), as well as Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk.
State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) opened the rally criticizing the mainstream media, gesturing at the “fake news” in the back of the room. “The media will never tell you some things about Andy Biggs. They will never tell you that he has one of the biggest hearts and he is full of kindness and compassion and that he loves the people of this state more than anyone I have ever known.”
Read the full storyKari Lake’s Reforms of Voice of America Winding Its Way Through Conflicted Courts
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a stay granted on Wednesday requiring the Trump administration to continue paying grants to Voice of America (VOA) grantees. The cuts were led by Kari Lake, who was appointed as advisor to the acting CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA.
Lake posted on X after the ruling, “Judges are trying to take the authority away from the President to run executive branch agencies. This is a gross encroachment on the President’s Article II Powers. The American people voted loud and clear for President Trump and his agenda. We will appeal this ruling as high as possible.” The Trump administration is planning an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court.
Read the full story