Rep Liz Harris expelled from Arizona's House of Representatives

Table Of Content

• Arizona House expels GOP lawmaker who presented unproven accusations
• GOP lawmakers call to ‘gut’ university funding after controversial event at ASU
• Harris expelled following controversial presentation at state legislature
• Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at age 93
• The Arizona House expels a Republican lawmaker for her role in baseless testimony
• This is what it took for Arizona Republicans to expel an election denier

Harris told The Washington Post ahead of the vote, "I didn't lie and God knows the truth. The truth will come out." Harris did not speak on her own behalf as the House voted to expel her. Only after the House adjourned did a handful of her supporters in the gallery speak out, shouting "shame on you, shame, shame, shame." The desk used by Arizona Republican Rep. Liz Harris at the state Capitol in Phoenix stands empty moments after she was expelled from the Legislature on Wednesday. “The actions of Representatives Ortiz and De Los Santos did not come close to what transpired on Capitol Hill that day. The not-so-subtle effort to equate the two is disgusting,” Barton wrote.

Arizona House expels GOP lawmaker who presented unproven accusations

Ethics Chairman Rep. Joe Chaplik, R-Scottsdale, led the investigation and report conducted for Harris. He said he thought it was appropriate Ethics members make their own decision on the vote to expel Harris and was the only Ethics member who voted against expelling her. In a report released Tuesday, the House Ethics Committee says it also found that Harris, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Chandler, later lied when claiming she had no idea that the witness would make such wild accusations. That was problematic enough to merit the ethics investigation and expulsion, according to House Speaker Ben Toma — a Republican, and one of the lawmakers falsely accused of criminal activity.

GOP lawmakers call to ‘gut’ university funding after controversial event at ASU

The precinct committee members will then vote, within five business days, to nominate three qualified candidates to replace the lawmaker. The board of supervisors from the county where the departing lawmaker lives will select the new lawmaker from that group. Specifically, Harris brought a guest to a public hearing who made unvetted accusations that officeholders, Mesa City Council members and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were part of a drug cartel's "bribery" scheme. She also lied to the Ethics Committee about whether she knew her guest would make those accusations, the investigation found. House members expelled Harris on a bipartisan vote of (with one Democrat home sick and not voting).

Expelled GOP lawmaker fails to regain Arizona House seat - The Associated Press

Expelled GOP lawmaker fails to regain Arizona House seat.

Posted: Fri, 05 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Harris expelled following controversial presentation at state legislature

The swing state has been a hotbed of election denialism and unsuccessful Republican lawsuits contesting results, including a legal action by Kari Lake, who has refused to accept her November defeat in the governor’s race. Representative Liz Harris was ousted from her seat by the G.O.P.-controlled House for promoting conspiracy theories during a legislative hearing. Republican and Democratic representatives joined together to expel Harris with a vote. The last expulsion from the Arizona legislature was in 2018, though before that, the most recent was in 1991. A Republican, she was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from January 2023 to April 2023. Harris was elected in November 2022 from the 13th legislative district, which includes much of Chandler, Arizona.

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at age 93

After the chair receives that notice, the chair or a designee must inform the precinct committee members in the departing lawmaker's district of the vacancy. Harris was elected by voters in Legislative District 13, which includes much of Chandler and part of Gilbert. “The defamatory allegations that Representative Harris invited her guest speaker to make are patently absurd, but there are many people who believe them. They believe the lies, and they continue to threaten retribution because we dispute them," Cano said. "They believe those lies because a State Representative, Liz Harris, platformed and legitimized them in a televised legislative hearing." Before she was elected to the Legislature, Harris led a door-to-door canvassing effort searching for proof of fraud following the 2020 presidential election. Department of Justice’s civil rights division, which warned about potential voter intimidation.

The Arizona House expels a Republican lawmaker for her role in baseless testimony

Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety. Breger also claimed that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “control[s]” government agencies and was “integral to the laundering activities,” the report said.

This is what it took for Arizona Republicans to expel an election denier

All Democrats and about half of Republicans voted to expel Harris in a vote. She’s the first lawmaker to be expelled in Arizona since Rep. Don Shooter was kicked out for sexual misconduct amid the 2018 #MeToo movement. Rep. David Stringer quit the following year after old sex crimes charges came to light that likely would have led to his expulsion. The vote against Harris comes less than a week after Tennessee Republicans voted to expel two black Democrats, a decision that made that state a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. But the Arizona vote did not carry the same partisan and racial overtones, with widespread and bipartisan condemnation for Harris’s actions.

Alongside Harris and Chaplik, the Republicans who voted against it include Reps. Neal Carter, David Cook, Gail Griffin, Justin Heap, Rachel Jones, Alexander Kolodin, Cory McGarr, Barbara Parker, Jacqueline Parker, Kevin Payne and Austin Smith. Livingston said his vote to expel Harris wasn’t personal, but it was standing up for the integrity of the institution of the House. The Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to expel Rep. Liz Harris, R-Chandler. "It sets a bad precedent because it says we're going to expel members for playing shell games and hiding the ball. Well, start expelling members for that, there would only be a few occupied seats down here," said State Rep. Alexander Kolodin.

State House Speaker: Expulsion was necessary

Breger, an insurance agent from Scottsdale, attributed her allegations to a report written by John Thaler, who she said was an attorney with a background in fraud investigations. The full chamber vote came a day after the House Ethics Committee released a report that said Harris damaged “the integrity of the House” through her actions. PHOENIX (AP) — Republican lawmaker Liz Harris who was previously expelled will not be sent back to the Arizona House of Representatives, Maricopa County officials announced Friday. Steele is precinct committee member for the district who was among the signers of a March 28 resolution by GOP district officials in support of Harris for "her commitment to Election Integrity, and her efforts to expose corruption on whichever side of the aisle it falls."

Harris' expulsion came less than a week after Tennessee Republicans voted to expel two black Democrats, a decision that made that state a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. But the Arizona vote did not carry the same partisan and racial overtones. Instead, there was widespread and bipartisan condemnation for Harris’ actions.

The Republican-controlled Arizona House of Representatives voted to expel one of their own Wednesday morning, a day after a report found now-former Rep. Liz Harris committed "disorderly behavior" in inviting a speaker who spread a baseless election conspiracy theory. Harris organized a daylong hearing of the House and Senate elections committees in February. At the end, a Scottsdale insurance agent, Jacqueline Breger, gave a 40-minute presentation alleging without reliable evidence that two women working on behalf of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel used fraudulent mortgage documents to launder money to a range of officials. The committee’s report said Harris knew the person she invited to a legislative hearing in February would accuse her colleagues of criminal activity, that she took steps to hide it from House leaders ahead of time and then misled the committee investigating her actions. Rep. Liz Harris, a prominent supporter of discredited election conspiracies, was kicked out of the Legislature in a bipartisan vote after the presentation by an Arizona insurance agent.