By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s Attorney General is facing yet another instance of Republican opposition to her desire to sideline Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in an investigation of the Governor’s Office.
This week, State Representative David Livingston became the latest Arizona official to weigh in on the brewing scandal and investigation over the Governor’s Office’s alleged impropriety with taxpayer dollars, writing a letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes, demanding that she “immediately recuse [herself] from investigating the pay-to pay scandal, which involves substantial donations to both the Arizona Democratic Party and Governor Hobbs’ inaugural fund.”
In his letter, Livingston reminded the state’s top cop that he had previously communicated with her office to “express disappointment with your disposition of my public resources complaint, which alleged that then-Governor-Elect Hobbs misused public resources in violation of A.R.S. S 16-192 by impermissibly funneling 53 contributions to the Arizona Democratic Party through a state website.”
Livingston pointed to Mayes’ handling of this issue, in what he called a “clear conflict of interest in investigating my public resources complaint,” as fuel for his latest transmission to the Attorney General’s Office. He wrote that Mayes’ “conflict of interest and mishandling of my complaint warrants your recusal from investigating the pay-to-play scandal because it likewise stems from Governor Hobbs’ unprecedented inaugural fundraising and political donations to the Arizona Democratic Party.”
The Republican legislator also told Mayes that she “either grossly misunderstand[s] Arizona law or [is] making a desperate attempt to claim jurisdiction over the pay-to-play investigation to protect Governor Hobbs and/or the ADP” with her efforts to shield the Maricopa County Attorney’s and Arizona Auditor General’s Offices from the inquiry. Livingston explained that “it is the county attorney that may refer criminal matters to [the Attorney General’s Office] for investigation by the State Grand Jury if the offenses fall within its jurisdiction,” and that “the Auditor General routinely works with county attorneys to conduct investigations and is statutorily authorized to do so.”
As he concluded his letter, Livingston opined that “if [Mayes] dislike[d] Arizona’s laws or the limits of [her] authority imposed by those laws, you are welcome to advocate for statutory changes through the legislative process. He added a warning, stating that “what you may not do, however, is make false statements about Arizona law to micromanage the conduct of other elected officials and public servants or prevent them from exercising their own powers and duties.”
Livingston’s letter to Mayes comes after letters from two of his Republican colleagues in the State Legislature, Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope and Representative Matt Gress, were sent to Mitchell and Mayes. Shope sent a letter on June 5 to both Mayes and Mitchell, asking both officials to “examine the facts surrounding the Department of Child Safety’s alleged decision to approve a nearly 60% rate increase for Sunshine Residential Homes and determine if conduct by any of the involved parties warrants a criminal or civil investigation.”
Gress followed up with a letter on June 6 to Mitchell, letting her know that “the Auditor General’s Office stands ready to partner with you in getting the facts about this troubling matter,” and that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee “will allocate the resources the Auditor General needs to help restore what appears to be a major breach of trust in our government.”
That day (June 7), Mayes fired off two letters to both Mitchell and the Arizona Auditor General, Lindsey Perry, over the investigation. Mayes told County Attorney Mitchell that “it would not be appropriate or in the best interest of the state to conduct parallel investigations into the same matter,” and that “a separate process conducted by the MCAO could jeopardize the integrity of the criminal investigation that my office will now proceed with.”
Mayes similarly told Auditor General Perry that “while [the Auditor General’s] office is statutorily authorized to examine records and conduct audits at the direction of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, at this time, the assistance of [her] office is not needed by the Attorney General’s Office for our investigation.”
After the letters from Mayes, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee sent a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, requesting “that [she] investigate the allegations that have occurred in [her] jurisdiction.” Yee also delivered a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, highlighting the state’s top cop’s recent assertion to the State Auditor General and the Maricopa County Attorney that her office had singular control over any investigation “is not appropriate or authorized by law, as those entities have separate jurisdiction to investigate this matter.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
