Flake Family Scandal Returns To Haunt In Social Media Battle With Joe Arpaio
By Matthew Holloway |
Former Ambassador and Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) wrote a post to X on Sunday in which he reiterated his support for Democrat Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, extolling the virtue of the “rule of law.” In a scathing response to the post, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio refuted Flake’s stance based in the “rule of law” by hearkening back to a 2014 scandal that nearly ended Flake’s career.
In his post, Flake wrote, “I’m voting for Kamala Harris not in spite of being a conservative, but because I’m a conservative. Conservatives believe in the rule of law.”
In reply, an evidently unamused Arpaio wrote, “Your son Austin and his wife killed 23 dogs, and then sued me and the Sheriff’s Office for prosecuting them. You tried to destroy me and my detectives, you don’t believe in the rule of law!”
Arpaio was referring to an incident which found Flake’s son Austin Flake and wife Logan Flake (née Hughes) indicted on multiple felony charges in connection with the deaths of 23 dogs at the Green Acre dog-boarding facility, owned by his in-laws Jesse Todd and MaLeisa Hughes. Arpaio, then-Sheriff, was the public face of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department which led the investigation and told the public during a press conference, “The caretakers were the Senator’s son and his wife.”
As reported by ABC15, the case against the Flakes was dismissed and the Hughes pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges in 2014. As the saga unfolded, the Flake family launched a lawsuit, alleging malicious prosecution against Arpaio and his now-late wife Ava personally, along with Maricopa County, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Deputy Sheriff Marie Trombi and her husband.
The legal battle raged for three years until its resolution, largely in Arpaio’s, Trombi’s, and the county’s favor in 2018. That’s when a final effort to revive the lawsuit and a civil trial was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Neil Wake, according to AZCentral.
During the ongoing litigation, then-Senator Flake announced that he would not seek re-election. Flake was facing collapsing populariaty, had vocally set himself against the sitting President Trump, and faced primary defeat from pro-Trump Republicans. At the time, Politico reported that a top GOP strategist “said Flake’s team had been polling the race since the beginning of the year and had repeatedly found no path to victory in either the GOP primary or the general election.”
“He basically lost to all comers,” the GOP strategist told the outlet. “There wasn’t a Republican or a Democrat you could put next to him on the ballot who he wouldn’t lose to.”
Since his public fall from grace with the Arizona GOP, Flake has become a minor surrogate for the Biden administration, attracting a small cohort of anti-Trump Arizona Republicans. He was rewarded for siding against Trump with a posting as U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye. The 61-year-old ex-Senator stood down from his post in Ankara in September and has since aligned himself with the Biden campaign at first, and now the Harris campaign as previously reported by AZ Free News.
Flake’s enthusiastic advocacy for Harris has left many in Arizona wondering what a future under Harris could hold for the Snowflake-born politician. When asked by AZ Free News if he received any policy concessions for his endorsement, such as protecting the filibuster, religious liberty, or SCOTUS; or if he was promised another ambassadorship or a cabinet post, Flake did not reply.
Matthew Holloway is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.