Category: The West

Former Arizona School Social Worker Claims She Was Advised to Keep Students’ Gender Transitions from Parents

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Arizona school district administrators advised social workers to conceal students’ gender transitions from their parents, a former school social worker told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Cyndi O’Brien, a former social worker at Scottsdale Unified School District, recounted a September 2022-2023 meeting where she says district social workers were told that they were not required to call parents if a child comes out as transgender during a counseling session. Instead, O’Brien says social workers were told to only disclose this information if a parent or guardian explicitly asks about it. O’Brien first wrote her story anonymously for Scottsdale Unites For Education Integrity, a parental rights group, before sharing her identity with the DCNF.

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Arizona State Representative Speaks Out in Support of New Pro-Life Baby Brand

Hannah Poling

Arizona State Representative and Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee David Cook (R-Globe) is speaking out in support of a new Pro-Life Baby Brand and the release of their new anti-woke advertisement.

The new California-based company Everylife launched its brand on Thursday, with a powerful unapologetically pro-life advertisement saying that every baby is a miracle from God who deserves love, protection, and support.

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Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego Raises $3.1 Million in Race for Sinema’s Senate Seat

Tom Pappert

Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) claims to have raised $3.1 million from mostly small-dollar donors funding his campaign for U.S. Senate, where he hopes to overcome Republican opposition and ultimately unseat Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-I).

Gallego’s campaign sent campaign finance data to 12 News on Thursday, revealing a $3.1 million fundraising haul in the second quarter of 2023. Though less than the $3.7 million Gallego raised in the first quarter, immediately after announcing his campaign, the latest reporting means his campaign has raised nearly $7 million this year.

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Voters Officially Launch Recall Campaign Against California Soros-Backed D.A.

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A new political committee was created Tuesday aimed at recalling a California County district attorney with ties to left-wing megadonor George Soros.

The political committee, filed under the name “Save Alameda For Everyone (Safe): Recall DA Price,” is part of an effort to remove Alameda County district attorney Pamela Price from office, according to public filings. Price is one of many District Attorneys that have received funding from liberal billionaire donor George Soros in an effort to elect reformist candidates, according to the Capital Research Center.

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Arizona Senate Republican Caucus Says Meeting with Governor Hobbs on Recent Administrative Actions ‘Went Well’

Hannah Poling

The Arizona Senate Republican Caucus said a meeting last week between Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs to discuss her recent abortion-related crimes executive order “went well.”

According to a session, update e-mailed to reporters by the caucus, after the meeting, Petersen (pictured above, right) was optimistic that the discussion between him and the Arizona Governor benefited the state.

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Arizona AG Kris Mayes’ Chief of Staff Resigns After First Six Months

Rachel Alexander

Amy Love, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ chief of staff, resigned on Monday, just six months into Mayes’ term. Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs’ first six months have been full of even more turmoil, with multiple high-level staffers leaving within the first six months.

Mayes titled the press release announcing Love’s resignation, “Attorney General Mayes Announces Leadership Change.” It stated briefly, “Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced the resignation of Chief of Staff Amy Love. Ms. Love’s final day with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office will be August 7, 2023. Amy Love is an exceptional public servant, and I thank her for her service to the Attorney General’s Office and the State of Arizona,” said Attorney General Mayes. “I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

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Arizona House Speaker, Senate President File Brief to Stop Hobbs’ Taxpayer Funded Child Gender Surgeries

Tom Pappert

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) filed an amicus brief on Monday, asking a federal court to align Governor Katie Hobbs’ executive order, which forces government agencies to pay for the gender reassignment surgeries of employees, with a state law banning minors from receiving such treatments.

The amicus brief was filed in Toomey v. State of Arizona, a lawsuit launched in 2019 on behalf of Russell Toomey, an associate professor at the University of Arizona who is transgender, by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). It alleged that Arizona violated federal civil rights statutes and the U.S. Constitution because it “unlawfully discriminates against transgender people” by refusing to pay for “gender-affirming surgery”.

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A Retweet of Hunter Biden Photos Does Not Appear to Violate Arizona’s Revenge Porn Law, State Senate President Says

Rachel Alexander

State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) came under criticism for retweeting a video clip that contained a few blurred-out photos of Hunter Biden engaging in sexual acts. The video accompanied a tweet stating that there are 459 crimes related to the Biden family. 

However, the tweet didn’t appear to violate Arizona’s revenge porn law, because Rogers lacked intent since she didn’t realize the clip contained the photos. She deleted the tweet as soon as she was told the photos were in there. In April 2021, Fox News showed a clip containing a blurred-out photo of Hunter engaging in a sex act with two women. There has been no report of a lawsuit or prosecution. 

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Hobbs Still Silent on Election Questions after Hurling F-Bomb at Reporter

Tom Pappert

Governor Katie Hobbs continues to keep her silence on key questions regarding the 2022 election in Arizona days after hurling an expletive at a reporter.

Hobbs once again ignored questions about her role as Arizona Secretary of State in the 2022 elections when confronted by Jordan Conradson, a reporter for The Gateway Pundit. She ultimately ordered Conradson to “give it a f**king rest” in a now-viral video posted last week.

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Drought-Stricken Arizona Grapples with More Residents, Foreign-Owned Farms, Regulations

Just the News

Arizona, known from its beginnings as the “Desert State,” has long sought new ways to provide water for its residents. But a roughly 19-year drought has created a host of new, urgent problems including how to regulate foreign and out-of-state businesses trying to capitalize on the demand.

“Eighty percent of our water is for agriculture, and a lot of it is unregulated,” community organizer Jacob Martinez recently told Just the News. “A California company can come into Arizona, put in a well and grow crops and go back to California and reap the benefits of that. We have no regulations, which is a problem.”

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Grand Canyon National Park to Get Electric, Natural Gas Busses

The Center Square

In the near future, visitors to Grand Canyon National Park could be transported around in a new electric bus.

The national park has been provided a $27 million grant to replace the current buses at the parks with ones that are “battery electric” and “compressed natural gas,” according to a press release from Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly. The funding came from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program. The act from 2021, also dubbed the bipartisan infrastructure law, has a total price tag of $1.2 trillion.

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Arizona Senator Calls Out Governor over ‘Harmful’ Veto of Sex Offender Registry Bill

Hannah Poling

An Arizona Republican state senator called out Governor Katie Hobbs for her “harmful” veto of a bill mandating those found guilty of dangerous crimes against children to register on the state’s sex offender website.

Senate Bill (SB) 1583, sponsored by State Senator Sine Kerr (R-Buckeye), aimed to close a gap in state legislation that now only compels those offenders found guilty of committing sex crimes against children to list their names on the website for sex offenders if they pose a significant danger of doing so again. Level one offenders, who are the least likely to re-offend, may not have to list their names on this website.

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Former Arizona Election Attorney Starts Process to Sue Kris Mayes for Defamation, Demands $2 Million

Rachel Alexander

Jennifer Wright, who served as the Election Integrity Unit (EIU) civil attorney under Attorney General Mark Brnovich, started the process this past week to sue current Attorney General Kris Mayes for defamation by filing a Notice of Claim. Someone from Mayes’ office told the media that Wright was fired or forced to resign, but Wright has produced evidence showing she resigned voluntarily. It is common when a new administration from a different political party takes over an office to fire high-level appointees from the previous administration.

“Over the past few years, I’ve become jaded by people in positions of power abusing that power for partisan gain & further subjugation of the American people,” Wright tweeted. “On 1/5/23 I was shocked when an outright lie was propagated by Arizona’s Chief Legal Officer, @krismayes, about me.”

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Former Arizona Election Integrity Unit Attorney Jennifer Wright Blasts Fontes’ New Draft of State Election Procedures

Rachel Alexander

Democratic Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS) Adrian Fontes started sending proposed draft revisions of parts of the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM) to county recorders around the state.

Jennifer Wright, who served as the Election Integrity Unit civil attorney under former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, where she was extensively involved in reviewing then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ proposed changes to the EPM, said she believes several of the first round of proposed changes would violate the law.

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State Rep. Gress: Scottsdale Could ‘Export’ Homeless from ‘The Zone’ to Hotel Near School, Neighborhood

Tom Pappert

State Representative Matt Gress (R-Scottsdale) is sounding the alarm over a $940,000 state grant to house homeless in a Scottsdale hotel, including former residents of “The Zone” and foreign nationals.

Just under $1 million from the $60 million Homeless Shelter and Services Fund, created by Gov. Katie Hobbs in the new Arizona budget, will be spent on 10 hotel rooms dedicated to the homeless of Scottsdale.

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Judge Grants Injunction Against Censorship of ‘Conservative’ Election Information, Which Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer Participated In

Rachel Alexander

A U.S. District Court judge granted an injunction Tuesday stopping the Biden administration from working with social media companies to censor information about elections, COVID-19, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and other “conservative” speech. Similarly, in 2022, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer worked with Biden’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, to “manipulate elections,” Trump attorney Christina Bobb tweeted last December. The Biden administration immediately filed a notice of appeal.

In his 155-page opinion, Judge Terry Doughty observed that the censorship was directed at conservatives. “It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature,” he said. “This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech. American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country.”

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Arizona Secretary of State Subpoenaed in Jack Smith’s Trump Probe

Tom Pappert

Special counsel Jack Smith expanded his Trump probe to Arizona by sending two subpoenas to the Arizona Secretary of State requesting information about 2020 election lawsuits filed by Republicans.

Smith, who so far has brought 37 charges against the former president, issued two subpoenas requesting documents from one election lawsuit brought by Trump’s campaign, and a second by former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward.

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Senate President Pro Tempore Says Governor Hobbs Is ‘Out of Touch’ with Arizonans on LGBTQ Executive Orders

Hannah Poling

Arizona Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R-Florance) said that Governor Katie Hobbs’ recent executive orders to provide insurance-covered sex change procedures and ban so-called “conversion therapy” are “out of touch” with the desires of the majority of Arizonans.

Last week, Governor Hobbs signed two executive orders one to require state employee health care plans to cover sex change surgeries and another to ban state agencies from funding, promoting, or supporting so-called “conversion therapy” for minors.

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Arizona House Judiciary Committee Members Call on Phoenix City Council to Rescind Ukraine Firearms Ordinance

Kaitlin Housler

Chairman Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) and Vice-Chair Selina Bliss (R-Prescott) of the Arizona House of Representatives Judiciary Committee have sent a letter to the Phoenix City Council asking its members to rescind a recently-approved ordinance that allows for the transfer of approximately 500-600 unclaimed firearms to the National Police of Ukraine.

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Arizona Republican Lawmakers Oppose the Biden Administration’s Proposed EPA Regulations

Hannah Poling

Arizona Republican lawmakers are fighting back against the “disastrous impacts” the proposed changes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules will have on Arizonans.

Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) sent two letters to the U.S. EPA in opposition to the EPA’s proposed regulations which would mandate a transition to electric cars and trucks from model year 2027 through model year 2032.

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Arizona GOP Legislative District 3 Declares July ‘Pride in America’ Month

Rachel Alexander

A large majority of Republican Party officials in a Maricopa County-area legislative district voted to declare the month of July “Pride in America Month.” The June 29th move comes at the close of a contentious “Pride Month” recognizing the LGBTQ+ community.

In all, two-thirds of the precinct committeemen (PCs) in Arizona’s Republican Legislative District 3 (LD3) voted to pass the resolution.

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Arizona Attorney Rachel Mitchell Calls on Governor to Rescind Executive Order on Abortion-Related Crimes

Hannah Poling

Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is calling on Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to rescind her executive order that strips county attorneys of their authority to prosecute abortion-related crimes.

Last month Hobbs signed a sweeping executive order to protect anyone involved with a “legally obtained” abortion from prosecution.

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Maricopa County GOP and We the People AZ Throw Happy Birthday America Party with Kari Lake

Rachel Alexander

The Maricopa County Republican Committee held a Happy Birthday Party to America party with the election integrity group We the People AZ featuring Kari Lake and her new book. The book, Unafraid: Just Getting Started, was released on June 27 and The Arizona Sun Times reviewed it here. Almost 200 people RSVP’d for the glitzy event, with tickets starting at $100 each.

Lake gave a speech talking about the book, her election litigation, and plans for Arizona. Attendees received books and had them signed by Lake. Merissa Hamilton, who is heading up a chase the ballot effort for Lake with Save Arizona, registered voters at a table. The hosts provided hot dogs, apple pie, beer, and margaritas. 

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Think Tank Identifies Voter Discrepancies in the 2022 Arizona General Election

Hannah Poling

A new study indicates that in the general election in 2022 in Arizona, either election officials tallied more ballots than the number of registered voters, or Arizona counties failed to maintain accurate records of who cast a ballot.

The study, conducted by the think tank The America First Policies Institute (AFPI), conducted an analysis counting the total number of ballots in the 2022 Arizona general election compared to the number of registered voters.

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Arizona’s City of Glendale Announces Four New Affordable Housing Communities

The Center Square

The City of Glendale reached an agreement with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on June 28 for the board to provide over $7.1 million toward four affordable housing communities.

The project, funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, is expected to provide 790 new multi-family rental units to the valley, serving approximately 1,465 people per year beginning in Jan. 2024. In addition to the ARPA allocation, Glendale will provide more than $2.98 million in funding, and will waive more than $1.2 million in development fees.

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Second Week of Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman Wraps Up

Rachel Alexander

The second week of the disbarment trial of Trump attorney and constitutional scholar John Eastman concluded Friday, with testimony from the State Bar of California’s (SBC) expert witnesses Justin Grimmer and Jonathan Brater, director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections (MBE). Grimmer is a political science professor at Stanford.

Much of SBC attorney Duncan Carling’s questions to Grimmer consisted of asking him to debunk claims of election fraud, prompting First Amendment attorney Mark Fitzgibbons to tweet, “Am I wrong, but isn’t this bizarre CA Bar trial of Trump lawyer Dr John Eastman hearing more evidence than all the pre-Jan 6 election litigation challenges combined?” Analyzing election fraud claims did not come up in the 2020 election cases, since the judges dismissed them on technicalities without getting to the merits.

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Arizona Judge Rules to Not Dismiss Kari Lake’s Request for Access to Ballot Affidavit Envelopes

Just the News

A Superior Court judge in Maricopa County ruled earlier this week not to dismiss former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s request for access to ballot affidavit envelopes.

Maricopa County argued the ballot affidavit signatures are part of the voter registration record and are deemed confidential by state law with some  exceptions, which Lake doesn’t meet, according to county attorneys.

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Scottsdale City Council Votes to House Phoenix Homeless and Illegal Immigrants in Hotel Rooms

Rachel Alexander

The Scottsdale City Council voted Tuesday night to accept a $940,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Housing to house homeless people from Phoenix’s “The Zone” encampment and illegal immigrants in a Scottsdale hotel. Five of the council members and Mayor David Ortega voted yes, with Scottsdale City Councilman Barry Graham the sole no vote on Resolution No. 12888, the Homeless Shelter and Service Funding Agreement.. 

Graham tweeted his disappointment in the vote. “Last night, council voted to accept nearly $1 million from AZ Department of Housing on condition to house homeless from Phoenix and border migrants—not Scottsdale homeless,” he said. “The city will rent hotel rooms in McCormick Ranch-area. I voted ‘no’ based on responses to my questions about vetting participants and community safety. Scottsdale residents are compassionate—however there are better ways to demonstrate compassion.”

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Arizona Gov. Hobbs’ Transgender Healthcare Coverage Sparks Controversy

The Center Square

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed two executive orders on June 27, giving additional protections to the state’s LGBTQ residents.

The first order, Executive Order 2023-12, establishes that any “medically necessary” gender reassignment surgeries for state employees will be paid for through their health care coverage. The second, Executive Order 2023-13, bars any state agencies from funding, promoting or supporting conversion therapy for minors.

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Second Week of Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman Resumes

Rachel Alexander

The second week of the State Bar of California’s (SBC) disbarment trial against Trump attorney John Eastman resumed on Thursday, after a brief break due to one of the attorneys becoming sick. Throughout much of the day, SBC attorney Duncan Carling grilled Eastman about his allegations of illegal activity occurring in the 2020 election.

Carling repeated many of Eastman’s claims from the pleadings he filed in cases like Trump v. Raffensperger, prompting First Amendment attorney Mark Fitzgibbons to tweet, “The CA Bar lawyer is actually doing more to convince us the election illegalities merited what Prof Eastman recommended to his client. Courts rejecting cases on standing without EVER hearing evidence did a terrible injustice to the Constitution, and disenfranchised voters.” 

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Arizona Legislators Push Human Trafficking Awareness

The Center Square

Arizona legislators Sen. Frank Carroll, R-Surprise and House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu, are promoting the documentary “Sound of Freedom” as an extension of their campaign against human trafficking.

“Sound of Freedom” is produced by Angel Studios, a Christian streaming company known for producing “The Chosen” and “Tuttle Twins” series. Set for release in theaters on July 4, the movie tells the true story of retired government Jim Ballard, who established the nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad.

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Stephen Richer, Who Sued Kari Lake for Defamation over Election Fraud Allegations, Brought up Similar Concerns Previously

Rachel Alexander

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sued Kari Lake for defamation on June 22 over her statements alleging election fraud, but Merissa Hamilton, founder of EZAZ who is managing an effort to chase early ballots for Lake, pointed out that Richer has made similar allegations himself previously. The Maricopa County Recorder’s lawsuit is being paid for by the Protect Democracy Project, which is described by InfluenceWatch as “a left-of-center litigation organization created to oppose the policies of President Donald Trump.”

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Arizona Senate Republicans Cancel Scheduled Hearing to Immediately Focus on Governor Hobbs’ ‘Unconstitutional’ Executive Order on Abortions

Kaitlin Housler

Arizona Senate Republicans have announced the cancellation of a Senate Committee on Director Nominations hearing on Tuesday in order to better focus on and determine Governor Katie Hobbs’ “future intentions to further act beyond her authority” amid her recent enactment of an executive order regarding abortions.

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Arizona State University Sees Scrutiny over Conservative Event Backlash

The Center Square

An Arizona lawmaker wants the state’s collegiate governing body to investigate why an Arizona State University employee lost her job shortly after organizing an event featuring conservative speaker. 

State Rep. Austin Smith, R-Surprise, wrote to the Arizona Board of Regents on June 21 following the decision by ASU to terminate the employment of administrator Ann Atkinson.

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Several Candidates Submit Their Names to Replace State Sen. Steve Kaiser Who Resigned From the Arizona Legislature

Rachel Alexander

State Senator Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix) resigned earlier this month from the Arizona Legislature, leaving a void that must be filled by a Republican from that district per state law. The precinct committeemen in Legislative District 2, which is based in north Phoenix, will select three names at a meeting on June 26 to send to the Maricopa County Supervisors, who will have the final pick. 

The Arizona Sun Times has learned of three Republicans who have submitted their names for consideration to LD 2. Shawnna Bolick, who previously served in the Arizona Legislature as a representative for the district from 2019 to 2022, sent a letter to LD 2 PCs laying out her qualifications and reasons for desiring to return to the legislature. She cited her work as a PC, including canvassing, her position as the chair for the House Ways and Means Committee where she killed numerous tax increases, and her high ratings from various conservative organizations. 

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First Week of Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman by Judge Who Contributes to Democrats Concludes

Rachel Alexander

The first week of the disbarment hearing of Trump attorney John Eastman concluded on Friday, with State Bar of California (SBC) attorneys putting Eastman on the witness stand again along with Nevada Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Mark Waschin. The SBC continued to try and show that Eastman provided bad advice to President Donald Trump by telling him that one option for handling election fraud in the 2020 election would be to have Vice President Mike Pence reject certification of electoral votes from the disputed states.

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Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer Testifies During Third Day of Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman

Rachel Alexander

The third day of the State Bar of California (SBC) disbarment trial of Trump attorney John Eastman took place on Thursday, with the SBC calling Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Jonathan Marks, Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions in Pennsylvania, as witnesses. Richer is a Republican who started a PAC for election fraud-denying Republicans, and Marks was appointed to the position under then-Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Kathryn Boockvar, a Democrat.

Attorneys for Eastman and the SBC conducted direct and cross-examination of the two witnesses. Shortly into the direct examination of Richer, as he began testifying about his confidence regarding Dominion voting machine tabulators, Eastman’s attorney Randy Miller expressed his concern to the SBC disciplinary Judge Yvette Roland that she was allowing the SBC’s witnesses like Richer to present one side but not allowing Eastman’s witnesses to testify on the same topic. He said it was “quite prejudicial,” only “getting half the story.” Roland did not change her mind. 

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State Bar of California’s Star Witness at Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman Helps Eastman

Rachel Alexander
John Eastman

The second day of the State Bar of California’s (SBC) disbarment trial of Trump attorney John Eastman on Tuesday featured mostly direct and cross-examination of the prosecution’s star witness, former Pence attorney Greg Jacob. Jacob was put on the witness stand by the SBC to debunk Eastman’s advice that Vice President Mike Pence did not have the authority to reject electoral slates from states suspected of going to Joe Biden due to election fraud, but Jacob gave testimony to the contrary several times. 

Eastman’s attorney Randy Miller asked Jacob about a memo he wrote where he stated that “scholars disagree” whether it’s the vice president’s responsibility to substantively deal with accepting electoral slates. Jacob admitted, “There is a section in the Constitution that is at best ambiguous whether the vice president can reject electoral slates.” He cited three legal scholars who wrote articles arguing that the vice president has somewhat of a substantive role in that area. He said this question was “debated and disputed” in law review articles.

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Gov. Hobbs Signs Bill Restoring Water to Arizona’s Rio Verde Foothills After Months Without Source

The Center Square

After months without access to water, Arizonans in the unincorporated Rio Verde Foothills – just east of Scottsdale – have a temporary solution after Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bipartisan bill Monday to restore water to the area. 

Senate Bill 1432 will require Scottsdale to allocate water resources for three years via a newly established standpipe district. 

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