A group known as the Change for Arizona 2024 PAC (CFAPAC) filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I) Thursday, alleging that she had misused her campaign funds.
“Specifically, Complainant alleges that Senator Sinema, through her Committees, illegally diverted funds that were donated to her for campaigning for federal office by making expenditures for her personal use and benefit,” according to the complaint.
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We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA) filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County on April 25 for refusing to fulfill their public records request for ballot envelopes containing signatures from the 2022 election. The Verified Complaint for Statutory Special Action to Secure Access to Public Records From Defendants stated that the public records request was submitted on April 5 and denied by the county on April 10.
WPAA tweeted about the rejection on Wednesday, “A.R.S. 16-168(F) is not a catch to hide information from the public. Signatures are filed on deeds, court documents and licenses and made public. Ballot affidavit envelopes are not by design part of a voter record, we are committed to bringing the truth to light.”
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Three of the Trump-endorsed candidates in Arizona who lost their races filed lawsuits contesting the election results. Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh, and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem all filed lawsuits on Friday.
Finchem’s complaint, which was filed jointly in Maricopa County Superior Court with Jeff Zink, a Republican candidate who lost his race challenging Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07), named Gallego, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who was declared the gubernatorial winner over Lake, and incoming-Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who defeated Finchem, as defendants.
Zink was later dropped from the complaint in an amended complaint filed on Monday.
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Arizonans for Voter ID filed a complaint Wednesday with Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, alleging that he violated election law by posting a letter on his county website opposing their Proposition 309, which improves voter ID requirements. The complaint alleges violations of A.R.S. 11-410(A) and A.R.S. 16-192(A), which prohibit the use of government resources to influence an election.
Attorney Tim La Sota said in the letter, “I write today to bring to your attention apparent violations of two separate statutes that prohibit the use of public funds to influence an election. To wit, the violations involve a campaign that County Recorder Stephen Richer is waging against Proposition 309, which improves voter identification requirements. Unfortunately, Mr. Richer is using taxpayer money to wage this campaign.” La Sota went on, “This website is not at Mr. Richer’s disposal to use as a campaign website for his favored political causes.”
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Phoenix City councilman Sal DiCiccio shared that a group of Arizona home and business owners recently filed a complaint against the City of Phoenix over its handling of the homeless population.
“Phoenix has long pushed homeless into Neighborhoods. People are fed up and taking matters into their own hands,” tweeted Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio. “If Phoenix is allowed to push this problem into their neighborhood, your neighborhood will be next.”
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Trump-endorsed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has filed a complaint with Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich against Gov. Doug Ducey for using a state government helicopter to fly back from a campaign event with her opponent Karrin Taylor Robson after he hosted a campaign event with Robson.
The complaint letter from Lake’s attorney Tim La Sota stated, “The state airplane is not a shuttle service that can be rented out by wealthy politicians when the private jet they normally use is unavailable. And the Governor has no power under the law to permit such effective rental agreements to those he favors politically. Surely after over a decade in public office he must know this.”
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The Arizona Democratic Party submitted a complaint on Monday to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, asking him to investigate whether a couple of members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) violated the Arizona Constitution by drawing district boundary lines to protect at least three incumbent Republican state senators. Executive Director Charlie Fisher, who signed the letter, also asked the attorney general’s office (AGO)to determine if the members violated Arizona’s Open Meeting law, and whether members, as well as senators and their staff, improperly used state resources and funds.
The moves may have been done to include significant Republican enclaves in heavily Republican districts, not to just grab a single senator’s residence. State Senator Vince Leach (R-Tucson), one of the senators who was accused of being gerrymandered into a heavily Republican district, explained to The Arizona Sun Times about the area he lives in that was included, “Catalina has always been in LD 11. Since the election of 2012.”
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Another former Facebook employee filed a whistleblower complaint Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the tech giant misled its investors by failing to combat the spread of hate and misinformation on its platform, The Washington Post reported.
The former employee, whose name is not yet public, alleged that Facebook executives chose not to pursue adequate content moderation policies related to hate speech and misinformation for the sake of maximizing profits. The complaint also alleges that Facebook did not do enough about alleged Russian misinformation on the platform for fear of upsetting former President Donald Trump.
In particular, the complaint alleges that Trump and his associates received preferential treatment, according to the Post.
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Republican Reps. Ken Buck and Lance Gooden announced Friday the launch of the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus, a group of House Republicans working towards reining in major tech companies.
The caucus will focus on addressing anticompetitive and monopolistic practices by major tech companies, political censorship, and Big Tech’s relationship with China, Buck and Gooden announced in a statement. The caucus will also include Reps. Madison Cawthorn, Burgess Owens, and Paul Gosar, according to the announcement.
“Big Tech has abused its market power for decades, and Congress must act to hold these companies accountable and preserve the free market, promote competition and innovation, protect the freedom of speech, and foster a thriving digital economy,” Buck said in the statement.
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