by Matthew Holloway | Jul 16, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed an executive order prohibiting Arizona executive branch employees from using nonpublic government information to profit through prediction markets.
The governor signed Executive Order 2026-02 last week, directing covered state employees to refrain from disclosing or using information obtained through public service to earn profits, avoid financial losses, or help another person or organization financially benefit from prediction-market transactions.
Violations may result in dismissal, other employment sanctions, or referral to law enforcement, according to the order.
“Arizonans deserve a state government that works for them, not one where insiders exploit public service for their own gain,” Hobbs said. “I’m proud to set clear, commonsense ethical standards on prediction markets to hold our government accountable. Public service is a privilege, and we will not tolerate anybody abusing that privilege to line their own pockets.”
Prediction markets allow participants to trade contracts tied to the outcome of future events, including elections, government actions, military operations, weather, sporting events, and economic developments.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission describes event contracts as swaps that are often structured around yes-or-no outcomes. Their prices reflect market expectations, and contracts typically provide a fixed payout, usually $1, when the selected outcome occurs.
Hobbs’ order designates as confidential any nonpublic information obtained by covered executive branch workers that could be used to profit or avoid a loss through a prediction market.
That provision corresponds with Arizona’s conflict-of-interest law, ARS §38-504(B), which prohibits public officers and employees from using appropriately designated confidential information for personal profit during their government service and for two years afterward. The law also prohibits the unauthorized disclosure or use of information declared confidential by law.
The order covers employees and officers of the Governor’s Office, executive departments, state agencies and offices, and most state boards and commissions.
Its definition excludes agencies headed by a single independently elected state official, the Arizona Corporation Commission, and boards or commissions established by ballot measure during or after the November 1998 general election.
Hobbs encouraged other statewide elected officials, independent boards and commissions, and the legislative and judicial branches to establish comparable policies for their employees.
The order does not create an independent legal claim or remedy and cannot serve as the basis for challenging an action or inaction by a state agency, officer, or employee. It also states that the policy does not alter existing agency powers or override state or federal laws, regulations, or court orders.
The governor cited recent reports and a federal criminal case involving alleged use of government information to place wagers on military operations.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in April that Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke had been indicted for allegedly using classified information concerning a planned military operation in Venezuela to make wagers on Polymarket.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Van Dyke participated in planning “Operation Absolute Resolve,” a U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and placed approximately $33,034 in wagers while possessing nonpublic information about the mission.
Van Dyke allegedly profited approximately $409,881 after contracts concerning Maduro’s removal and the presence of U.S. forces in Venezuela resolved in Van Dyke’s favor. Prosecutors charged Van Dyke with violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and conducting an unlawful monetary transaction. The charges remain allegations, and no conviction was reported in the Justice Department’s announcement.
In March, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed 20 criminal charges against KalshiEx LLC and Kalshi Trading LLC, the companies behind the Kalshi prediction-market platform. Mayes alleged that the companies operated an unlicensed gambling business and unlawfully accepted wagers on elections.
In May, U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi granted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a preliminary injunction barring Arizona from enforcing its gambling laws through criminal or civil actions involving event contracts listed on CFTC-regulated designated contract markets. Liburdi found that the federal government was likely to succeed on its claim that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts Arizona’s gambling laws in that context.
Hobbs’ order took effect immediately upon signing and will remain in force until it is repealed, replaced, or rescinded by a future executive order.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 16, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month aimed at strengthening the federal government’s response to cybercrime, fraud, and other online schemes targeting Americans.
The order, titled “Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens,” directs multiple federal agencies to coordinate efforts to disrupt criminal organizations involved in cyber-enabled fraud schemes and online scams.
According to the White House, the policy establishes that the United States will protect Americans and strengthen financial and digital systems against cybercrime while responding to attacks through “law enforcement, diplomacy, and potential offensive actions.”
The order states its purpose as follows:
“Cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes are draining American families of their life savings, stealing the benefits of years of work, and destroying the lives of our youth. These activities — which include deploying ransomware and malware, phishing, financial fraud, ‘sextortion’ and other extortion schemes, impersonation, and more — are often coordinated campaigns carried out by Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) aimed at the most vulnerable among us.”
The order also states that foreign governments are connected to many of these schemes, writing, “In many cases, foreign regimes provide willing or tacit state support to cybercrime and predatory schemes, creating a shadow economy fueled by stolen identities, coercion, forced labor, and human trafficking.”
The executive order directs federal officials to conduct a comprehensive review of the operational, technical, diplomatic, and regulatory tools used to combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in cyber-enabled crimes and fraud schemes. The review is intended to identify ways to prevent, disrupt, investigate, and dismantle scam operations.
Under the order, the Attorney General is directed to prioritize prosecutions of cyber-enabled fraud and scam schemes and pursue serious, provable offenses. The Attorney General is also tasked with submitting recommendations on establishing a Victims Restoration Program to help return seized or forfeited funds to victims of fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security is instructed to work with the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center to provide training, technical assistance, and resilience-building support to state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.
The order also directs the Department of State to engage with foreign governments to encourage enforcement action against transnational criminal organizations operating within their borders. Countries that fail to cooperate could face consequences including sanctions, visa restrictions, limits on foreign assistance, or the expulsion of officials found to be complicit.
The executive order was issued alongside the administration’s broader Cyber Strategy for America, which outlined priorities for deterring cyber adversaries, strengthening critical infrastructure security, modernizing federal networks, and expanding the government’s cybersecurity workforce and capabilities to Congress.
Federal agencies are expected to develop implementation plans and recommendations in the coming months as part of the administration’s effort to disrupt cybercrime networks and strengthen protections for American citizens and businesses.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Jonathan Eberle | Nov 23, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
A new dispute erupted at the Arizona State Capitol on Thursday after Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-LD13), chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, accused Governor Katie Hobbs of misleading the public with an executive order tied to federal tax changes enacted earlier this year.
In a press release, Mesnard said Hobbs’ order directing the Arizona Department of Revenue to update state tax forms “blatantly misleads the public” by implying that her administration was delivering new tax relief. According to Mesnard, the changes she referenced were already established under H.R. 1, a federal tax reform package advanced by former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
Hobbs’ order, he argued, does not create any new state-level reductions. “Middle-class families deserve honesty, not last-minute attempts to steal credit for others’ hard work,” Mesnard said, asserting that Hobbs was attempting to claim political ownership of reforms she opposed. He noted that Democrats in Congress uniformly voted against the federal tax package and that—despite the governor’s framing—the adjustments she cited are already federal law.
Mesnard also criticized the order on procedural grounds, calling it inappropriate for a governor to “direct” the Department of Revenue’s handling of state tax policy. He said such authority rests with the Legislature.
The senator added that Republicans plan to advance legislation next session to formally align Arizona’s tax code with the federal reforms and expand on them where possible. But he warned that Hobbs’ order could create “uncertainty and chaos” for taxpayers in the meantime.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Oct 31, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne issued a statement opposing the State Board of Education’s decision to postpone the rulemaking to strip Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language from Arizona’s teaching standards.
The issue will now be taken up at the Board’s December meeting—a delay Horne warns risks $866 million in federal education funding and violates clear federal civil rights directives.
“I respectfully but strongly disagree with the vote to postpone opening the rule-making process,” declared Horne. “The President issued an Executive Order requiring DEI language to be removed from programs funded by federal dollars. It made it abundantly clear that federal education funding is at risk if DEI language remains in education programs. Failure to comply with federal guidance may result in the loss of an estimated $866 million to Arizona schools. That is a major funding cut to our schools, and we need to begin dealing with this as soon as possible.”
Horne pointed to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), signed by Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor, which reaffirms that discrimination based on race, color, or national origin is illegal under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause, and controlling Supreme Court precedent.
The guidance explicitly condemns race-based preferences in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, discipline, housing, and graduation ceremonies, and warns that DEI programs often “preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not.”
The OCR letter also cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which states that the use of racial preferences in school testing and admissions is unlawful. Their message is simple: “If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law.”
“Not only is the $866 million at risk, but there is a philosophical issue at stake, too,” continued Horne. “All people should be judged based on their character and ability, not their race or ethnicity. DEI language and programs promote the exact opposite, and they have no place in the classroom. The teaching standards, unfortunately, include DEI references, and they need to be removed.”
The teaching standards at issue direct educators to teach “equitably,” with “responsiveness to the cultural backgrounds and differing perspectives learners bring to the learning environment,” and to address the “social, emotional, and cultural needs of students.”
“These terms do not belong in teaching standards,” Horne concluded. “The standards are meant to direct educators on the most effective ways to teach students’ core academics. Every instructional minute is precious, and DEI efforts distract from that essential mission.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Sep 26, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The full deposition of Kari Lake, acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), was unsealed and filed publicly on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In the September 9th questioning from plaintiffs’ lawyers in lawsuits challenging layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and its parent agency, Lake dismantled the narratives woven by the terminated staffers in outlets like the Washington Post and NPR.
Lake has been accused of “gutting” VOA through alleged illegal firings and union-busting. The headlines painted a scene of “fearful journalists” and “dismantling” America’s global voice, framing the cuts as a political purge in defiance of court orders. However, Lake’s sworn testimony tells a different story.
In the 549-page transcript, Lake coolly describes a deliberate, team-driven effort to comply with President Trump’s March 14, 2025, Executive Order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which mandated slashing agencies like USAGM to their “statutory minimum” within seven days, as previously reported by AZ Free News.
“I effectuated — I got busy working to effectuate the President’s executive order,” Lake stated plainly during the deposition, responding to questions about her rapid response to the EO. Far from the “unaware” operative depicted in the Post’s coverage—which claimed she learned of the order “the day of” and blindsided staff—Lake described proactive preparations based on “rumblings” and immediate collaboration with career officials.
“We made the decision to determine what (the) statutory minimum was, and in the process of doing that, we worked with the senior leadership at the agency to come up with what our plan would be. We placed everybody on paid leave and worked with senior leadership, career leadership, and they came up with the plan.”
This new information decisively counters the union-led narrative of a “union-busting attack on workers’ First Amendment rights,” as put forth by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and amplified by Politico. Lake emphasized that reductions in force (RIFs) affecting hundreds were “the same process that went into the first one,” guided by non-partisan experts, such as Victor Morales, a 36-year agency veteran.
“This was an agency decision based on everything that’s led up to [it],” she added, rejecting any indications of personal retaliation. These firings also included a subsequent round after an August 28 executive order excluded the USAGM from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program.
The deposition also highlighted Lake’s repeated warnings about foreign infiltration plaguing USAGM, which were emphasized during her congressional testimony with Congressman Abe Hamadeh in June. “This place is rotten. It’s rotten to the core,” she told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “President Trump has asked me to go in and help clean it up, and he’s also issued an executive order to reduce this agency down to its mandate, to what is mandated, statutorily required. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I don’t care if they attack me.”
Media critics have dismissed her findings as fearmongering to justify cuts, but under oath, Lake was firm, identifying “massive national security violations, including spies and terrorist sympathizers and/or supporters infiltrating the agency, eye-popping self-dealing involving contracts, grants, and high-value settlement agreements…”
Pressed on her posts to social media stating that “the CCP has infiltrated VOA and you are paying for it,” Lake confirmed her statement without hesitation, saying simply, “Yes.” When asked about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meetings with VOA managers to shape coverage, she replied, “In the past, they have.”
These revelations appear to fly in the face of NPR’s portrayal of Lake’s reforms as baseless paranoia endangering journalists abroad, with reporters “fearful” over visa revocations amid supposed “lax security” excuses.
Instead, Lake clearly laid out the overhaul as a mission to restore integrity: “I think it’s important to effectuate the President’s executive order and make sure that what we’re putting out is honest, truthful reporting.”
She highlighted fiscal wins, like canceling an “obscenely expensive 15-year lease that burdened the taxpayers,” and anticipated operating “above the originally proposed statutory minimum” while adhering to the law.
The lawsuits, Widakuswara et al. v. Lake and Abramowitz et al. v. Lake, both stem from the firing of VOA staff and former VOA Director Michael Abramowitz, whom Lake attempted to reassign before a judge intervened to block it. But Lake invoked executive privilege on White House chats and stressed the EO’s clarity: “In the executive order, it says right here in Section 2(a), ‘such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.'”
Along that same line of reasoning, Solicitor General of the United States D. John Sauer announced in late August that the Department of Justice is prepared to defend the removal of Abramowitz from his position writing, “Under Article II, inferior executive officers must be removable at will by the President or by a department head acting on the President’s behalf.”
As Lake navigates the legal hurdles raised before her, her deposition emerges as a counter to the media narrative. While outlets like the Washington Post describe “contentious court battles” and “radical cuts,” Lake’s testimony underscores a lawful cleanup of a bloated, fatally infiltrated bureaucracy. She summarized the situation best, saying, “The President put out an executive order calling for the reduction to the statutory minimum,” and “it was the decision of the team, the senior leadership team, that we needed to follow the President’s executive order.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
