That sound of laughter you hear coming from the Arizona State Senate.
Those are the people reading Legislative District Six State Senator Wendy Rogers’s response to the workplace harassment charges made against her last month by her legislative aid Michael Polloni.
Rogers-Response-to-Ethics-Complaint-020121
In her letter to the Senate Ethics Committee, Rogers claimed that the allegations against her should be dismissed because:
- Mr. Polloni did not list the pertinent legal citations or Senate Ethics rules being violated.
- She believes she did nothing wrong.
Two passages from Roger’s response illustrate this “defense.”
“Senate Ethics Committee Rules of Procedure…Rule Five, Complaints states a complaint alleging ethical conduct sgall contain either a statement of fact within the personal knowledge of the complainant describing the alleged unethical conduct or the law or Senate Ethics Rule that is alleged to have been violated. The complaint contains no law or Senate Ethics Rule alleged to have been violated.”
“I believe the allegation by the Complainant alleging I created a hostile work environment is not true; therefore, the alleged, untrue allegations do not constitute improper conduct that adversely reflects upon the Senate.”
Readers should wonder about the quality of the legal advice Rogers is receiving. Did she retain the same people who Donald Trump listened to on the election? Did anyone proofread what was written before sending it to the Committee?
The Senators that sit on the State Ethics Committee, after they get done laughing hysterically at this rebuttal, are probably going to need more than Lieutenant Colonel Roger’s warped sense of logic before dismissing this case.
Her reasoning is analogous to any criminal for any offense expecting to be acquitted because they said they did not do it.
That does not work in a court of law and it is probably not going to work on the Arizona Senate Ethics Committee.
On Polloni not citing the relevant legal and ethical codes in the complaint, one should not be surprised if an updated version of that document with the relevant citations is not already in the Senate Ethical Committee Chairperson’s email or would be ready on request if needed.
The accusations against Senator Rogers need to be thoroughly investigated and if found to be true, she needs to be expelled from the State Legislature.
People should not be allowed to serve the public if it is found they purposely and without remorse behaved cruelly to others and dishonored their oaths of office.
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