The Phoenix law firm of Timothy La Sota issued a complaint to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell on Wednesday requesting that her office launch an investigation into Attorney General Kris Mayes for allegations of illegal use of public funds on campaign activities.
In the complaint, La Sota cites A.R.S. § 16-192(A) which states that a state official “shall not spend or use public resources to influence an election, including the use or expenditure of monies, accounts, credit, materials, equipment, buildings, facilities, vehicles, postage, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, web pages and personnel and any other thing of value of the public entity.”
Reflecting on the powerful stories shared at last night’s Community Impact Hearing on federal firings and DOGE funding freezes. I won’t stand by while billionaires in D.C. cut jobs and services—I'll keep fighting for the funding Arizonans deserve. pic.twitter.com/VKjTp10K0F
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) March 6, 2025
La Sota describes two specific incidents in which he alleges Mayes violated the law, drawing from posts by Mayes to social media and reporting from The Arizona Republic.
He wrote, “We have more facts about the one in Phoenix at Central High School last month…This event was nothing more than a thinly veiled political rally hosted by people who hate Donald Trump, and organized by Kris Mayes. The event featured three other far left Democratic Attorneys General, including Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Raul Torrez of New Mexico, and Dan Rayfield of Oregon. Mayes used it as an opportunity to boost the electoral chances of Congressman David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani’s opponents, according to The Arizona Republic: ‘Where is (Rep.) David Schweikert? Where is (Rep.) Juan Ciscomani? If I have to, I’ll go hold the town hall in David Schweikert’s district, or Juan Ciscomani’s district, if that’s what it takes to give his constituents the right to speak out about this,’ Mayes said, taking aim at Arizona’s most vulnerable GOP House lawmakers.”
I will keep fighting to hold the Trump administration accountable and ensure they follow the law.
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) March 7, 2025
La Sota alleged that Mayes’ staff “clearly helped put this event together.” Further the complaint states that, though he wasn’t listed on the invitation, Ellison attended the March 5th event as shown in a Democratic Attorneys General Association livestream.
WATCH:
The attorney then contends that Mayes “returned the favor by flying to Minnesota, with taxpayer money, and participating in another political rally hosted by Ellison, this one also featuring scary, radical left-winger New York Attorney General Letitia James.”
La Sota concludes, “We support Ms. Mayes’ right to associate with whoever she wants to, no matter how extreme their political views are. Likewise, she has the right to say what she wants, no matter how far out of the Arizona mainstream she is. But she may not use taxpayer resources to amplify this message. And the law reflects the principle that public schools are not to be used for politicians to host political rallies. We ask that you investigate this and ensure that Mayes is held accountable.”
The Democratic candidate for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), Tamika Wooten, filmed a video for her campaign in the courtroom while on the clock.
Wooten filmed the video last month on September 21, posted to her campaign Facebook page as “A Day in the Life of Tamika Wooten!”.
Wooten explained in her video that she had spoken with LD3 voters at Black Mountain Democrats earlier that morning, and that she was now about to hear the cases of individuals arrested the night before and that morning. Wooten then told viewers that she would speak at Sun City Grand.
“It’s my honor to serve, and it’s all in a day’s work,” said Wooten.
Yikes 🚨
Democrat Tamika Wooten filmed a campaign video in the courtroom … in her judge's robes … while she was on the clock.
As a progressive candidate, Wooten has promised to not prosecute abortionists or criminalize abortions, limit mandatory minimum sentencing, and expand diversion sentencing for the mentally ill and drug addicted who commit crimes or abuse drugs openly. Wooten stated on her campaign website that she would only be prosecuting “serious crimes.”
“I’ll prioritize alternatives to incarceration for minor offenses so we can: reduce prison populations, save millions in taxpayer dollars, [and] give hurting Maricopa County communities a chance to heal,” says Wooten’s campaign website.
In an interview earlier this year, Wooten said that she would treat crimes committed by the mentally ill or drug addicted as “health issues” instead of punishable crimes.
“I want to treat mental illness and substance abuse as a health issue not criminal justice issue and by reallocating our money and creating diversion programs for those who are charged or those who have mental illness,” said Wooten.
Wooten also said she would work to expand programs to end recidivism, such as providing education to prisoners.
MCAO currently engages in diversion programs and prioritizes heavier prosecution for violent crimes. One of the newest programs concerns felony diversion for parents or guardians charged with child abuse, neglect, endangerment, or a related offense whose circumstances of offense relate to substance use, particularly opioid use.
During that interview, Wooten also indicated that she wouldn’t prioritize illegal immigration crimes, instead focusing on “higher-level crimes.”
In a more recent campaign video posted last month, Wooten said that she would refuse to prosecute abortions at all. Wooten said as much during last month’s debate with her Republican opponent, current Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
“As your next county attorney, I will always defend your right to choose and our doctors’ right to provide healthcare,” said Wooten in her campaign video.
“A prosecutor does have judicial discretion. I will focus my efforts overall on keeping communities safe, rather than policing a woman’s womb,” said Wooten during the debate.
As AZ Free Newsreported last month, Wooten has a history of erring on the side of criminals. Prior to serving as a judge, Wooten defended human traffickers and pleaded down their cases to reduced sentencing.
In that same reporting, Wooten made remarks in a closed-door meeting promising to not prosecute under the controversial ballot proposal HCR 2060, the “Secure the Border Act.” If approved by voters this November, that proposal would make illegal immigration a state crime, which would allow local law enforcement to make arrests and local judges to order those convicted to leave the country.
“We don’t need to patrol our citizens,” said Wooten.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Maricopa County’s top prosecutor is sounding the alarm about online exploitation of unsuspecting minors.
Earlier this month, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell released information to help parents understand more about the dangers their children face while online.
Mitchell and her office shared a statistic from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), showing that more than 7,000 reports of online sextortion of minors occurred in 2022.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), sextortion “is a form of exploitation where children are threatened or blackmailed by a person who demands additional sexual content, sexual activity or money from the child. The scammer will threaten the child with the possibility of sharing nude or sexual images of them with their family, friends and the public.”
The genesis of these encounters, per the MCAO, happens when “a teen receives a message from a pretty girl on a social media or dating site. The two begin to talk and eventually share explicit photos. Unbeknownst to the teen, the person on the other side of the chat is not a pretty girl at all. It’s a scam artist who has recorded their entire conversation, explicit photos and all, and is now blackmailing the teen for more photos or money.”
The MCAO warned parents that this activity is “more common than you think,” adding that “13-17 boys are the most common target.”
Boys and girls come across these scammers through direct messages on their social media apps and are usually coaxed into moving the conversation or supposed relationship into an anonymous messaging app or a live-stream video chat.
County Attorney Mitchell and her office give the following advice for parents in helping educate and protect their children against these serious online dangers:
Explain what information should never be shared on social media
Remind your kids that they should never accept a friend request or respond to someone they don’t know in real life, even if they have friends in common online
Teach them how to block and report people on social media sites
Warn them of the risk of sharing inappropriate photos
Most importantly, remind your kids that they can always come to you for help
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
