Arizona’s Politics

Arizona Senators Split On Proposal To Forbid Attack On Iran Without Congressional Approval (READ the amendment)

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Arizona’s Senators split on June 27 on a proposal that would have restricted the President’s abilities to begin hostilities with Iran before getting Congressional approval. The bipartisan amendment needed 60 votes to pass; the vote was 50-40. Kyrsten Sinema sided with all voting Democrats to add the check to President Donald Trump’s ability to launch … Read more

NEW: Appeal Filed On Non-Decision To Force Earlier Special Election For Arizona’s McCain/Kyl/McSally Senate Seat

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An appeal was filed last night in the constitutional challenge to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s ability to control the late Senator John McCain’s seat until November 2020. There has not been a decision by Judge Diane Humetewa, but plaintiffs call it an “effective denial” of their challenge.

Oral arguments were held on April 12, and was taken under advisement at that time. Today’s appeal notice follows an unusual round of letters and responses filed last week, as the plaintiffs have grown impatient.

AZ Law and Arizona’s Politics have previously reported on the constitutional challenge to the Arizona vacancy law. At that point, Sen. Jon Kyl was serving at the Governor’s request. Kyl then resigned, permitting Ducey to appoint Martha McSally to the seat until a special election would be held in 2020 to fill the last two years. Sen. McCain passed away on August 25, 2018.

The Arizona plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of the vacancy law, and say the election must be held as quickly as possible.

This round of out of the ordinary filings began last week, when Judge Humetewa entered

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UPDATE: Gosar Committee Amends, Says Congressional Staff Did NOT Simply Receive Campaign Bonuses

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Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar responded immediately to the FEC’s letter seeking more information about his holiday bonuses for his Congressional staff. However, that response may raise further concerns about House Ethics rules violations and/or campaign finance reporting.

The campaign committee filed an amended report yesterday. It now says that most of his Congressional staff were actually paid out of the campaign committee’s checkbook for doing “administrative services.” (amended report published below)

This may raise further questions from authorities. The amended report now contradicts the committee’s second amended post-general report, as to the purpose of the holiday disbursements. Both reports now do indicate that the monies were first owed to the Congressional staff during the post-general election period – which actually includes a few weeks before election day (October 18- November 26); could the Congressional staff members actually have performed $44,000 worth of “administrative services” during that period in a not-very-intense general election campaign. (Gosar won with more than 68% of the CD4 vote.)

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UPDATE: The Ghost of Holiday Bonuses Past: FEC Follows-Up On Rep Gosar ‘s Questionable Staff Bonuses

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Two weeks ago, we reported that $44,000 of holiday bonuses that Rep. Paul Gosar paid to his Congressional staff could ruin his year. Today, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) sent a letter to the Congressman’s committee, asking for more information on those – and, other – “incorrectly reported disbursements.”

The article noted that paying the bonuses to his Congressional staff from his campaign committee COULD be within the rules of both the House Ethics Committee and the FEC, but that there would need to be careful documentation of the campaign work done in order to justify the bonuses. Arizona’s Politics spoke with ethics experts who pointed out the possible legal and ethical issues for the Congressman.

(Read: Rep. Gosar Pays $44k To Congressional Staff For “Campaign Bonuses”; May Have Violated Ethics Rules and/or Campaign Finance Laws)

Although we would not yet know if the House Ethics Committee read the article, received a complaint, or is looking into any possible violations, we now know that the FEC has taken notice. A senior campaign finance analyst sent two letters on June 7 to the Gosar campaign seeking additional information.

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