Arizona House Expels Republican Legislator Liz Harris After She Presented Witness Who Alleged Crimes by Officials
Rachel Alexander | April 17, 2023The Arizona House voted 46-13 to expel State Rep. Liz Harris (R-Chandler) on Wednesday after conducting an investigation into her bringing a witness to testify to the Senate Elections Committee, who accused legislators and other public officials of committing crimes. Jacqueline Breger told the committee that Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, State House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) and others executed fraudulent deeds as part of a bribery scheme involving the Sinaloa drug cartel, along with other accusations.
Various legislators say that Harris was not truthful when she said she did not know what Breger was going to say. But Harris told The Arizona Sun Times it wasn’t that she didn’t know about the criminal accusations – she had instructed Breger only to address election integrity.
After the explosive testimony in February, State Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-Tucson) submitted a complaint about Harris on March 6 to the House Ethics Committee, which is chaired by State Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale). Hamilton alleged that Harris violated House Rule 1, which prohibits impugning other members. Chaplik led an investigation, held an evidentiary hearing, and issued a report from the five-member committee unanimously finding that Harris had violated the rule and committed “disorderly behavior.”
However, he declined to issue any disciplinary recommendations in the report. He told The Arizona Sun Times that it should be the responsibility of the 60 members of the House, not three to five members of the committee. When the expulsion came up for a vote in the House, he voted against it . . .
https://arizonasuntimes.com/politics/arizona-house-expels-republican-legislator-liz-harris-after-she-presented-witness-who-alleged-crimes-by-officials/ralexander/2023/04/17/
Republicans doing the Democrats' bidding.
