Blog for Arizona

FACT CHECK: Sen. Kyl’s Lobbying Firm Did NOT Spend $1M+ To Promote Kavanaugh

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Arizona's Politics | Leave a comment

Arizona’s Politics has reported multiple times on Senator-Turned-Lobbyist-Turned-Sherpa-Turned-Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and his activities related to current Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. And, Arizona’s Politics has questioned Kyl repeatedly for the details of his sherpa’ing and lobbying since President Trump took office. With that in mind, the calls today for Kyl to “recuse” himself from the nomination vote (if/when it takes place) caught our attention.

State lawmaker Daniel Hernandez, Jr. called for the recusal on Twitter (below) and Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini made the case in detail.

Arizonans call Senator Jon Kyl and tell him he should recuse himself on the Kavanaugh vote. (202) 224-3121. He was the “Sherpa” for Kavanaugh.

— Representative Daniel Hernandez Jr (@danielforaz) September 18, 2018

Kyl has done both sherpa’ing and lobbying for Trump nominees, which has created some of the confusion. Montini’s column is evidence. He states that “Kyl’s lobbying firm spent more than a million dollars in TV ads promoting Kavanaugh,” and that “as a lobbyist Kyl worked for Kavanaugh.” These are not accurate.

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UPDATE: Republic Article On AZ AG’s Involvement With APS & Prop. 127; APS CURRENT Donations To Re-Elect Brnovich (#50ShadesOfDarkMoney)

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Arizona's Politics | Leave a comment

(This article was originally posted at ArizonasPolitics.com)

We need to call attention to an illuminating article by Ryan Randazzo in the Arizona Republic about the Arizona Attorney General’s Office making changes to the wording of Proposition 127 – the Clean Energy initiative on the November 6 ballot. Arizona Public Service is investing heavily in defeating the measure.

Randazzo includes a focus on the $425,000 that Pinnacle West (APS’ parent) sent to the Republican Attorneys General Association in 2014 to assist then-candidate Mark Brnovich in his campaign. (He indirectly credited Arizona’s Politics by citing columnist Laurie Roberts’ 2014 column citing our initial article.)

Arizona’s Politics was also the first to report that APS has contributed $50,000 (so far) to RAGA to re-elect Brnovich.

Our articles have hinted at the oddness of the APS/RAGA monies, as opposed to

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Abuse of power and obstruction of justice in plain sight

Posted on September 18, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | Leave a comment

Russian asset and crime family boss Donald Trump just keeps digging his hole deeper with the Special Counsel’s investigation.

Yesterday he added two more counts, for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The GOP House Freedom Caucus co-conspirators who are aiding and abetting his crimes should also be charged.

Steve Benen does a good job of breaking it down. Trump ignores security, crosses ‘red line’ with declassification gambit:

Donald Trump’s abuses have become routine, but that doesn’t make them any easier to tolerate. The president’s move yesterdayafternoon, for example, is awfully tough to defend.

In an unprecedented move that stunned current and former intelligence officials, President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the public release of highly classified documents and text messages related to the FBI investigation into whether his campaign conspired with Russia.

A statement by the White House press office said Trump had directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Justice and the FBI to declassify about 20 pages of a highly sensitive application for surveillance against Carter Page, a one-time Trump foreign policy aide.

The president suggested two weeks ago that he was considering such a move, but many hoped Trump was just blowing off steam and he’d end up in a more responsible place. That’s obviously not what happened.

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Posted in AZBlueMeanie, Congress, Conspiracy Theory, Corruption, Courts, Crime, Ethics, GOP War On..., International, Justice, Law Enforcement, Party Politics, President, Russian Affair, Scandals

Tagged abuse of power, accessories, co-conspirators, conspiracy, Department of Justice, FBI, Intelligence Agencies, National Security, obstruction of justice, Special Counsel, witness intimidation

The Senate needs to get this right, and right now it is failing

Posted on September 18, 2018 by AZ BlueMeanie | 1 comment

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled next Monday for a hearing on Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh when they were in high school.

While there does need to be a hearing, this is yet again another example of GOP leadership steamrolling the Kavanaugh nomination without all the facts being made available to senators. GOP leadership is setting up this Monday hearing to be another public spectacle like the Anita Hill hearings were in 1991, and that is unfair to Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavaaugh, and the Senate. These fools have learned nothing in the intervening years.

Lat week Senator Dianne Feinstein referred the letter of Christine Blasey Ford to the FBI for further background investigation. All 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter dated Monday morning urging Grassley to postpone the committee vote, urging that an FBI investigation should conclude before Kavanaugh’s nomination proceeds. Democrats call to delay Kavanaugh committee vote, after accuser comes forward.

The problem is that for judicial background checks, the client is not the Senate but the White House. And the White House Hasn’t Asked FBI to Vet Kavanaugh Allegations, Sources Say:

The White House hasn’t asked the FBI to investigate the allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman when they were in high school, a request required for the bureau to take further action, according to two people familiar with the matter.

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Posted in Activism, AZBlueMeanie, Congress, Corruption, Courts, Crime, Editorial, Ethics, History, Justice, Lobbying, Party Politics, President, Scandals, Senate, White House

Tagged #MeToo, FBI, sexual assault, sexual harassment, U.S. Supreme Court

Why are some Republicans afraid to debate their Democratic Opponents in front of their constituents?

Posted on September 18, 2018 by David Gordon | 1 comment

On Friday, September 7, 2018, the Clean Elections Commission sponsored a debate between the Republican and Democratic nominees for State House and State Senate in LD 18. The appropriately named Republican Nominee Frank Schmuck chose not to debate his Democratic opponent, incumbent State Senator Sean Bowie.

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Posted in Activism, Arizona Congressional Delegation, Arizona Congressional Races, Arizona State Legislature, Campaigns, Commentary, Community, David Gordon, Debates, Editorial, Elections, Governor, Party Politics, Political Events

Tagged andy biggs, David Garcia, Doug Ducey, Eric Kurland, Frank Schmuck, Jay Lawrence, Joan Greene, john kavanagh, Kyrsten Sinema, sean bowie

#RedForEd: Don’t Get Mad. Get Even on Nov 6 (video)

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Pamela Powers Hannley | Leave a comment

Are you upset that the Outlaw Dirty Money and Invest In Ed Citizens Initiatives were tossed off of the November ballot by right-wing, activist judges? Many constituents have asked me what they can do about it. Here are three suggestions: vote NO on Prop 126, Prop 305 and Prop 306, and here’s why.

Along with hundreds of Arizonans, my volunteers and I carried petitions through the summer heat to get the Outlaw Dirty Money and Invest In Ed on the ballot. I’m upset that the Arizona Supreme Court tossed both of these initiatives off the ballot– despite their obvious popularity with the voters and despite the gargantuan signature drives that were mounted by the people. The only people who declined to sign these two petitions when I asked them were people who had already signed.

Outlaw Dirty Money was an attempt to bring more transparency to campaign finance laws. Invest In Ed would have raised the income tax on Arizona’s richest residents to pay for stable funding for public education. If you believe in these ideas– campaign finance transparency, getting big money out of politics, sustainable funding for public education, stopping the tax giveaways, and stopping school vouchers– there are three important “no” votes you can make on Nov. 6– No on Prop 126, No on Prop 305 and No on Prop 306.

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