This is not Mark Finchem’s week.
First, the Arizona State House and Senate Republican Chairpersons of their respective Ethics Committees have dismissed the Legislative District (LD) 11 State Representative’s complaint aimed at the whole Democratic delegation to the Legislature.
The State House Chair, Becky Nutt, who erred in not following through with the over 80 complaints against the LD 11 Representative, issued a statement on Finchem’s complaint which partially read:
“The ethics committee is not an arena for waging political contests. That is true whether the subject of a complaint are individuals Republicans (as before) or nearly the entire Democratic caucus (as here).’’
Senator Sine Kerr, the chairperson of the Senate Ethics Committee wrote:
“…do not constitute ‘conduct alleged to be unethical’ under the committee’s rules.”
The Finchem complaint in the Senate, according to reporting from the Capitol Times, could still proceed if two other members of the Ethics Committee say they want to move forward by March 1, 2021.
Another reason the week has started off badly for Mr. Finchem is Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland, has committed to pursuing charges on anyone who helped ignite the spark that led to the Trumpist Domestic Terrorist Attack on the Nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It seems the public may be seeing more of Mr. Finchem’s social media posts regarding January 6, 2021, in the future.
They potentially should make for incrim…interesting reading.
Finally, the liberal group, Campaign for Accountability, according to reporting by AZ Mirror, has written a complaint to the Arizona Secretary of States office, asking for an investigation into Finchem’s nondisclosure of a little over $6000 payment from the Trump Campaign to help spread the former Chief Executive Demagogue’s Big Lies about the 2020 Presidential Election.
The letter to the Secretary of State concludes with:
“Arizona financial disclosure laws for public officials are not optional, yet Representative
Finchem appears to have willfully failed to disclose a business entity and income received.
While the $6,000 Mark Finchem, PLLC received has been the subject of press reports, it is
entirely possible that Mark Finchem, PLLC has received other payments in past years that he
also failed to report. Elected officials are not above the law and the citizens of Arizona deserve a full and accurate accounting of Representative Finchem’s finances. It is only through accurate financial disclosure forms that citizens can learn of potential conflicts of interest or improper payments. Therefore, the Secretary of State should conduct a full review of Representative Finchem’s finances and if, as it appears, he has knowingly violated Arizona financial disclosure laws, refer this matter to the State Attorney General for potential criminal prosecution.”
Anti Finchem groups are also working to recall him from office.
Mr. Finchem has no one to blame but himself for the situation he finds himself in.
Unfortunately, he probably does not see it that way.
What is most galling about Mr. Finchem and the other Quisling-Election Denying-Coup Plotting-Trump Zone and Fox Island residents (like Kelli Ward, Kelly Townsend, Wendy Rogers, Anthony Kearn, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar) is they really do not think they have done anything wrong.
Their perspective of reality is so warped that they really believe all the lies and venom about the election and other matters (think masks are not necessary to wear during a pandemic) they are spreading to the majority of the people that populate the former Party of Lincoln.
The legal authorities and courts have to stop this madness from the fringe right.
If not them, then the voters have to in 2022, 2024, and beyond.
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