The Daily Agenda: Don't just blame Liz
The Daily Agenda: Don't just blame Liz
Look in a mirror instead ... Lawmakers v. Tucson, round 1 million ... And bring back our bro Jelani.
We gave a passing mention yesterday to the absolutely bananas claims that Gilbert insurance agent Jacqueline Breger delivered to the Legislature’s joint elections committee last week.
Frankly, we thought that was plenty of ink for the woman who thinks that the cartels are engaged in some highly technical land deed scam to exploit and bribe all manner of law enforcement agencies, civic and religious groups and, of course, a bunch of politicians. The backstory of how she got to this dark place is just sad.
But over the past few days, the same politicians who have spread their fair share of conspiracy theories started distancing themselves from Breger and denouncing her wild allegations while looking for someone to blame for the committee going off the rails.
It seems Republican lawmakers, even Wendy Rogers, have found a line they aren’t willing to cross when spouting unhinged accusations about election theft: It’s somewhere between accusing lawmakers of being in on it and opening lawmakers up to defamation lawsuits.
Amid her rant about the Sinaloa Cartel and deeds, and in between pitching her boyfriend John Harris Thaler’s new book and website on the topic, Breger name-checked Gov. Katie Hobbs and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, as well as a handful of judges and Thaler’s ex-wife. She called the entire City of Mesa a racketeering organization and claimed there’s a police department inside Mesa PD charged with protecting the cartels. She claimed Pima and Maricopa county elections were hacked because the bosses at Runbeck Election Services took bribes to allow it. She claimed she found 25,000 false ballots and a wad of cash in a private Mesa home.
“Public officials who have received bribes include multi-state office holders, state House and state Senate, local office holders, county supervisors, judges in the Maricopa Supreme Court (SIC), judges of some city courts including two presiding judges, judges’ assistants, prosecutors within certain cities within Maricopa County, prosecutors for Maricopa County, peripheral legal specialists, including attorneys, approved mental health care providers, as in court appointed advisors, and related specialists. In the Superior Court of Maricopa County and Pinal County and Pima County at least 25% of the active judges have accepted bribes in exchange for protecting the racketeering activities.”
None of the lawmakers objected to any part of that screed. To his credit, eventually, Republican Sen. Ken Bennett stepped in to say the whole presentation was inappropriate. The committee then let her continue her rant. At the end, Rogers and others declared her a “brave woman.”
As the Republic’s Ray Stern points out, Breger’s documents claim that Rogers and Bennett are both on the take from the cartels.
While Breger’s testimony might have been the most bizarre showing we’ve seen in a while, it was far from the only weird rant from election conspiracy theorists that the committee entertained in that meeting or any of its similar meetings in the last two months.
So why are lawmakers suddenly distancing themselves from Breger? Probably because they’re afraid they’ll get sued. Already, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is considering a lawsuit, he told the Yellow Sheet Report.
But there are also interpersonal issues at play that made it easier for lawmakers to throw one of their own under the bus. The House speaker and Senate president allowed the committee to meet as a concession for Republican Rep. Liz Harris (who invited Breger) after Harris refused to vote for the GOP’s “skinny budget” earlier this month then switched her vote a few days later.
Because the hearing was designed to appease Harris, Senate President Warren Petersen pointed blame at her and the House, saying he had no idea that the presentation would be given. The House blamed the Senate and Harris, noting the joint committee was chaired by a Senator and held in the Senate.
House Republicans held a closed caucus meeting Monday to discuss the problem, and rumor has it some Republicans are discussing potential sanctions like an ethics complaint or a censure for Harris.
Blaming Harris alone is a copout that dodges real responsibility. The problem is much larger than Harris or Breger. But it’s a lot harder for legislative leaders and reality-accepting Republicans to look in the mirror and ask themselves how they got here and how they can get out of this mess.
We don’t think they like Tucson: The most recent anti-Tucson legislation would make it so cities couldn’t be charter cities, which would then allow lawmakers to dictate how current charter cities run their elections, among other things, a longtime interest of Republican lawmakers, Capitol Media Services’ Howie Fischer reports. This time, the move comes in the form of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1023 from Sen. Justine Wadsack, who admitted the blanket removal of charter cities was really just aimed at Tucson’s council elections.
The post-Roe reality: Desert Star Family Planning, one of nine clinics in Arizona that provide abortions, may have to close because of financial and staffing difficulties, the Republic’s Stephanie Innes reports. Other abortion clinics in Arizona have faced similar problems since Roe v. Wade was overturned, limiting patients’ ability to access care even before 15 weeks. We spent time at Desert Star for a story last year, which you can read here.
Everyone loves Delaware: You may remember a Republic story from last year that questioned a $2 million contribution to a pro-Kari Lake PAC after finding the source of that money proved elusive. After the story, the Public Integrity Alliance filed a complaint to the Secretary of State, which turned the investigation over to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. The office dismissed the complaint after finding that the source was indeed a real company that had donated to the PAC, though it was organized in Delaware instead of Arizona, like many companies are because of its lax disclosure laws, the Arizona Mirror’s Jim Small reports.
Sounds like politics: The two runoffs for Phoenix City Council have heated up in recent weeks, with candidates facing push polls, text ads, yard signs and social media campaigns that dredge up misleading or incomplete claims, the Republic’s Taylor Seely reports. (In case you missed it, you can find our overview of the council races here.)
Get high for science: A legislative committee gave bipartisan support to bills that would fund research into both ecstasy and mushrooms to treat post-traumatic stress after advocacy from Dr. Suzanne Sisley, who long fought for state studies of marijuana to treat psychological issues, Bob Christie writes for Capitol Media Services. House Bill 2486 would give $30 million to research psilocybin and its potential use to treat PTSD, long COVID, anxiety, depression and more. HB2489 would legalize ecstasy in Arizona if the FDA downgrades it from a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
Slaps on wrists coming soon: Less than half of short-term rentals in Valley cities that now require registration have actually gotten registered, though it’s not clear how or if cities can actually hold those who haven’t registered accountable based on state law, the Republic’s Sam Kmack reports, based on data from Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Goodyear and Peoria.
Vape no more: Black leaders want the Tempe City Council to reconsider its decision not to ban flavored nicotine products, saying the flavored products disproportionately affect Black people, the Phoenix New Times’ Elias Weiss reports. Tempe abandoned the idea of a full ban and instead decided on a licensing program. The city would have been the first in Arizona to do a flavored nicotine ban.
Never Facebook: Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson faces an ethics complaint over meetings that he documented on Facebook in New York in January with financial institutions that are regulated by the commission, KJZZ’s Matthew Casey reports. Thompson said he didn’t discuss any pending commission matters with the companies.
All’s not fair in campaigning: Elijah Norton, a Republican who ran against U.S. Rep. David Schweikert in the GOP primary last year, is suing the congressman for defamation over attack ads run by Schweikert’s campaign that attacked his company and insinuated Norton is gay, the Republic’s Tara Kavaler reports. It’s the fifth lawsuit against Schweikert’s 2022 campaign, all of which are still pending.
Numbers down: Border agents encountered fewer migrants both in the Tucson Sector and overall along the southern border last month after the Biden administration made it harder for people to seek asylum in the U.S., the Herald/Review’s Lyda Longa reports.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Arizona Agenda to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.