BREAKING, WATCH: Sinema One Of 3 Democrats Voting For Largely-Symbolic GOP Tax Bill; Schweikert Expresses "Joy" Over Bill

On the final day of the House session before the mid-term elections, Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) was one of 3 Democrats to vote with Republicans* on a largely-symbolic bill to make last year's tax cuts permanent.

The measure passed 220-191, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already determined that any bill to make cuts permanent would need 60 votes to pass, and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) said the House measure would not be taken up this session.

Sinema - who is running a statewide race to replace Jeff Flake in the Senate - issued a brief statement implying that she worked with Republicans to craft today's measure.

“When last year’s partisan tax bill passed, I said I would work across the aisle on a better deal for Arizona families,” said Congresswoman Sinema. “Last year’s tax bill failed to provide permanent tax relief for middle class families and small businesses. Today’s bill rectified that issue and that’s why I voted yes.”

Sinema's opponent, Rep. Martha McSally (R-CD2), also voted for the bill and has not released a statement.

Arizona Rep. David Schweikert (R-CD6) - who is on the House Ways & Means Committee - spoke on the floor in favor of the bill. In a typically exuberant speech, he emphasized the "joy" that should be accompanying the economy and this bill.


*10 Republicans voted against the bill.

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

WATCH, READ: Flake's Remarks That He Will Vote To Confirm Kavanaugh Today, But Won't Next Week Unless Investigation

Flake's comments just before 11am (AZ Time)

So, @JeffFlake agreed that he would vote yes on Kavanaugh's nomination today on the condition that he would vote no on the floor IF @senatemajldr calls a vote in less than a week. And, that week is to give the chance for an investigation.

Issued this morning, shortly before the Judiciary Committee hearing and before he was confronted by protesters:

“After hearing more than 30 hours of testimony from Judge Kavanaugh earlier this month, I was prepared to support his nomination based on his view of the law and his record as a judge.  In fact, I commented at the time that had he been nominated in another era, he would have likely received 90+ votes.

When Dr. Ford’s allegations against Judge Kavanaugh surfaced two weeks ago, I insisted that she be allowed to testify before the committee moved to a vote. Yesterday, we heard compelling testimony from Dr. Ford, as well as a persuasive response from Judge Kavanaugh. I wish that I could express the confidence that some of my colleagues have conveyed about what either did or did not happen in the early 1980s, but I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty.

What I do know is that our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law. While some may argue that a different standard should apply regarding the Senate’s advice and consent responsibilities, I believe that the constitution’s provisions of fairness and due process apply here as well.

I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.”

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

BREAKING, READ Final Bill For Reviewing Items Seized From Michael Cohen Search Warrants - Total Fees/Costs: $1.3M

The Special Master reviewing the items seitzed in the Michael Cohen search warrants has submitted her final bill, and the taxpayers and the Cohen and Trump teams are splitting the $1.3M cost.

Former Judge Barbara Jones was appointed by U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood in April to review the documents and records seized earlier this year when the FBI executed search warrants on President Trump's (former) personal attorney's offices, home and hotel room.

Jones noted that none of the parties objected to the final invoice, and that the $249,715 includes nearly $60,000 in expenses.

The total cost for Jones' role in reviewing the records and the claims of confidentiality came to $1,300,314.  Per agreement between the parties and the court, half of that is paid by the government, and the other half is split between Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and Michael Cohen.

Some of the seized documents obviously played a role in the August guilty plea by Michael Cohen, in which he indicated that then-candidate Trump had directed him to commit campaign finance felonies by disguising and not reporting payments to Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) and Karen McDougal. Cohen stated that the payments were to prevent the women from talking about their alleged affairs with Trump (shortly after Melania Trump gave birth to Barron Trump).

   Final Bill on Cohen Search Warrant Special Master by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

$47,390     April
338,421     May
368,081     June
296,707     July
249,715     August


If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

WATCH: Sen. Jeff Flake Statement To Brett Kavanaugh At Today's Hearing

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

NEW: AZ Sen. Jon Kyl DID Work For Dark Money Giant JCN In Preparing For This Supreme Court Vacancy

In an apparent contradiction to earlier comments, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl did provide material assistance in 2017 to the Judicial Crisis Network for the current Supreme Court vacancy. Kyl has not yet responded to repeated requests to clarify the extent of his work for the dark money group that is spending millions of dollars supporting the Brett Kavanaugh nomination.

Arizona's Politics reported in July on Kyl being named the "sherpa" (or, guide) for Kavanaugh through the confirmation process. Kyl's role in that trek was interrupted earlier this month when Arizona Governor Doug Ducey tapped Kyl to return to the Senate - this time, to serve out the remainder of Sen. John McCain's term.

At that time, Arizona's Politics asked if he was supporting the Kavanaugh nomination on behalf of the Trump Administration, JCN, or both; Kyl answered that he was "working gratis for the White House in my personal (not law firm) capacity."

However, in his lobbying disclosure to the Senate last year, Kyl and his lobbying partner Bill Wichterman at the law firm of Covington & Burling indicated that not only did they help JCN with the Gorsuch nomination, but they worked to "prepare for possible additional Supreme Court vacancy." That 2nd disclosure report indicated that JCN paid $115,000 for the work between April 1 and June 30. Gorsuch was confirmed on April 7, so it would appear that a sizable chunk of work was done for replacing the next Justice to leave the bench.

#50ShadesOfDarkMoney: Arizona's Politics has written about the dark money nature of the JCN in the past, and more recent reporting shows that it has been largely funded by one anonymous donor. In the current Kavanaugh battle, JCN has spent more than $4M to bolster Kavanaugh, and says the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct are "unsubstantiated."

Don’t let a last-minute smear campaign negate Judge Brett #Kavanaugh’s lifetime of excellence, service to his community, his church, and his family. Call your Senators today and tell them to vote to #ConfirmKavanaugh! pic.twitter.com/seDpSVOEA4

— Judicial Network (@judicialnetwork) September 27, 2018

The fact that Sen. Kyl performed similar-yet-different work for different nominees/appointments, the fact that some was paid work and some was pro bono, and the fact that he took turns working for the White House and a private dark money group has understandably led to confusion. We attempted to clear up some of that confusion with our Fact Check last week.  However, a re-examination of the lobbying disclosures has called part of that fact check back into question: what kind of work did Sen. Kyl do on behalf of JCN related to the current Supreme Court vacancy and did any of that have to do with Kavanaugh? 

Arizona's Politics has repeatedly reached out to the two persons best-situated to answer that important question - Kyl and his co-lobbyist Wichterman. Neither have responded to the series of questions. We will update if and when they do.


If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

NEW: APS Broadens Its Campaign Spending In Senate Race, And Ups Its Ducey Support To $175,000+

Arizona Public Service Co. ("APS") has opened up its political playing field in recent months, spending more than $175,000 to re-elect Governor Doug Ducey (R) and directly spending to attack Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) in Arizona's closely-watched U.S. Senate race.

Arizona's Politics has learned that APS - through its parent company Pinnacle West - sent $50,000 to Republican leadership's Senate Leadership Fund in June. The Mitch McConnell-connected SuperPAC is expected to spend heavily to help elect Rep. Martha McSally (R-CD2) in the remaining weeks.

APS has also squirreled away another $500,000 in the Republican SuperPAC Arizona Grassroots Action, bringing its total contribution to that committee up to $1,650,000. AGA is also likely to jump into the Senate race.

Howard Fischer of Arizona Capitol Media reported earlier today on Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's remarks that he did in fact sign a law to blunt the possible impact of Proposition 127. That "Clean Energy" initiative has been fiercely opposed by APS (to the tune of approximately $11M to date). Arizona's Politics earlier reported that APS had contributed $100,000 of early money to help Ducey's campaign. The Republican Governors Association has spent heavily supporting Ducey and attacking his Democratic challenger.

Arizona's Politics can now report that APS has given another $75,000 to the RGA (see below). The total is $175,000, and that does not include monies given by APS or its CEO (Don Brandt) directly to the Ducey Victory Fund.

APS lists some of its political contributions on its website, and it is still facing legal challenges by Corporation Commissioner Robert Burns to disclose its heavy campaign spending - including that through "dark money" organizations - in 2014.

   RGA IRS 2q18 8872 - Amended by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. http://bit.ly/AZpDonate 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

FACT CHECK: Sen. Kyl's Lobbying Firm Did NOT Spend $1M+ To Promote Kavanaugh

(Update, 9/26: Arizona's Politics has published a new article indicating that among the tasks performed by now-Sen. Kyl for the JCN was helping to "prepare for possible additional Supreme Court vacancy." Kyl has declined to clarify what sort of work such preparation entailed.)

Arizona's Politics has reported multiple times on Senator-Turned-Lobbyist-Turned-Sherpa-Turned-Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and his activities related to current Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. And, Arizona's Politics has questioned Kyl repeatedly for the details of his sherpa'ing and lobbying since President Trump took office. With that in mind, the calls today for Kyl to "recuse" himself from the nomination vote (if/when it takes place) caught our attention.

State lawmaker Daniel Hernandez, Jr. called for the recusal on Twitter (below) and Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini made the case in detail.

Arizonans call Senator Jon Kyl and tell him he should recuse himself on the Kavanaugh vote.  (202) 224-3121. He was the "Sherpa" for Kavanaugh.

— Representative Daniel Hernandez Jr (@danielforaz) September 18, 2018

Kyl has done both sherpa'ing and lobbying for Trump nominees, which has created some of the confusion. Montini's column is evidence. He states that "Kyl's lobbying firm spent more than a million dollars in TV ads promoting Kavanaugh," and that "as a lobbyist Kyl worked for Kavanaugh." These are not accurate.

Kyl lobbied for the large law firm Covington and Burling. He did NOT lobby for the dark money Judicial Crisis Network. It was the latter that is spending heavily on ads supporting Kavanaugh. Neither Kyl nor Covington benefit from that spending.

Kyl lobbied FOR JCN during the Gorsuch nomination. His firm was paid $215,000 for that lobbying work.

Kyl told Arizona's Politics that he sherpa'ed for Kavanaugh on his own time for the Trump Administration. And, that neither he nor Covington received monies for that work introducing Kavanaugh to Senators, helping him prepare, etc. (Kyl also sherpa'ed Jeff Sessions after he was nominated for Attorney General.)

Arizona's Politics published Kyl's full explanations in this article. We followed up with Kyl shortly before he was tapped by Governor Doug Ducey to replace John McCain in the Senate.

Now, Montini's and Hernandez's call for recusal might still make sense, but it is important that the bases for that call are made accurately.

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

UPDATE: Republic Article On AZ AG's Involvement With APS & Prop. 127; APS CURRENT Donations To Re-Elect Brnovich (#50ShadesOfDarkMoney)

We need to call attention to an illuminating article by Ryan Randazzo in the Arizona Republic about the Arizona Attorney General's Office making changes to the wording of Proposition 127 - the Clean Energy initiative on the November 6 ballot. Arizona Public Service is investing heavily in defeating the measure.

Randazzo includes a focus on the $425,000 that Pinnacle West (APS' parent) sent to the Republican Attorneys General Association in 2014 to assist then-candidate Mark Brnovich in his campaign. (He indirectly credited Arizona's Politics by citing columnist Laurie Roberts' 2014 column citing our initial article.)

Arizona's Politics was also the first to report that APS has contributed $50,000 (so far) to RAGA to re-elect Brnovich.

Our articles have hinted at the oddness of the APS/RAGA monies, as opposed to the more obvious contributions to Corporation Commissioners, the Governor, and lawmakers at both the state and federal levels. And APS has defended itself with statements that it supports what it considers good governance at all levels.

This intervention by the AG's office finally helps answer some of the questions that were raised - here and in Ms. Roberts' new column - by the $475,000 (so far) that APS has sent to help AG Brnovich.

#50ShadesOfDarkMoney: Explanation of how RAGA "went dark" in '14: http://bit.ly/AZp998 It now has a "40" shade of dark on our scale - as much of its money has come from the completely dark Judicial Crisis Network (currently focusing on the Kavanaugh nomination) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

BREAKING: This Should Be Interesting - VoteVets Drops $250k Ad Opposing McSally In #AZSen Race (#50ShadesOfDarkMoney)

VoteVets Action Fund, a progressive Super PAC focusing on veterans issues, disclosed this morning that it is spending more than $250,000 this week on an ad attacking Republican Senate nominee Martha McSally.

The ad begins running today, although it is not yet available online. McSally's campaign is built around her well-known history as the first female combat pilot, and she has personally been attacking Democratic nominee Kyrsten Sinema for being a war protester. Sinema has responded by touting her work on behalf of veterans, which makes this new ad an interesting chapter in the battle.

VoteVets Action Fund is teaming up with Majority Forward on this independent expenditure. Both are dark money groups on the Democratic side, with Majority Forward earning a 50 on the #50ShadesOfDarkMoney scale. VoteVets is similarly dark, although Issue One has been able to identify some of its largest contributors as various labor unions; Issue One ranked it as the 14th largest dark money spender for the 2010-2016 period.

(Here is more information on the #50ShadesOfDarkMoney scale.)

Arizona's Politics has requested a link to the ad from VoteVets, as well as asking additional questions. We will update if/when we get a response. However, if YOU are able to find or get video, please send it to us at info-at-ArizonasPolitics-dot-com. You will be entered in our thank you raffle that will be announced next week. Thanks.

   VoteVets vs McSally FEC Disclosure by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

   VoteVets vs McSally - KPHO by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

WATCH: Sen. Flake's 1st Round of Questioning Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh - "Three ZIP Codes Away"

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) got his first chance tonight to question Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The 2nd day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on President Trump's pick for the highest court in the land is continuing into the night.

Flake opened with a softball question about Kavanaugh's judicial heros (Mom to retired Justice Anthony Kennedy to the late Justice Thurgood Marshall with many stops in between) , before trying to pin him down on how he felt about Trump's Tweets politicizing the Department of Justice. Judge Kavanaugh hawed ("I try to live in the real world") and hemmed before maintaining that he needs to avoid talking about "current events" and saying he wants to not just stay away from the line but "three ZIP codes away from the line." (starts about 14 minutes in)

From there, the questioning moved to legal issues involving public lands and how Judge Kavanaugh understands the importance of that issue to Westerners.

There will be a second round of questioning by Senators, likely beginning tomorrow. The Judiciary Committee will then vote on whether to recommend his approval by the entire Senate.

http://bit.ly/FlakeKavanaugh1

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

BREAKING: Riggs Defeats Branch By 359 Votes For GOP Nomination For AZ Public Schools Supt; Avoids Automatic Recount By 111 Votes

An automatic recount in the GOP primary battle for State Superintendent of Public Instruction has been avoided by 111 votes, and Frank Riggs gets the nod over Bob Branch, incumbent Diane Douglas and the other two candidates by 359 votes.

Maricopa County posted their final tabulations late this evening, permitting the Secretary of State to post unofficial final results. While Riggs and Branch both show 21.8% of the vote in the 5-way race (21.84% to 21.77%, to be precise), the automatic recount is only triggered if the two are within one-tenth of a percentage point when just the number of ballots cast for them is the divisor.

With that in mind, the gap between Riggs' 124,666 and Branch's 124,307 calculates to 0.0014. That just misses the trigger of 0.0010 or less.

This does not mean that Branch (or Douglas, Tracy Livingston or Jonathan Gelbart, for that matter) could not contest the results. It only means that the state does not have to conduct an automatic recount.

Barring a successful contest, Riggs will face Democratic nominee Kathy Hoffman on November 6.

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

Sherpa Kyl Says Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh's Done "Very Good Job", Ready For Confirmation Hearing Tomorrow

Former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl has been Brett Kavanaugh's "sherpa" for his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. On the eve of Tuesday's confirmation hearing, Kyl tells Arizona's Politics this weekend that Kavanaugh "has done a very good job in his 'interviews'". Kyl also says that he has not been involved in the White House's decision-making process on which documents should be made public for the confirmation battle.

Evan Vucci (AP)

Democratic Senators on the Judiciary Committee are protesting last week's decision by the White House to assert executive privilege on some 100,000 pages of documents from Kavanaugh's record while he worked for the Bush Administration.* They are insisting that documents currently marked "Committee Confidential" be publicly released in order to question the nominee about them.

In an email to Arizona's Politics, Kyl said that that document production "is handled by White House Counsel" (currently, Don McGahn). The longtime Arizona lawmaker has been involved in "helping follow up on questions, etc" after their meetings with Senators. "I believe he has done a very good job in his 'interviews'."

Jeff Flake, Kyl's replacement in the Senate, is on the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be participating in the hearing that starts tomorrow. He has not released any public statements on the Supreme Court nominee since shortly after President Trump named him.

*The attorney for the former Bush Administration stated that they cleared those pages - and, more - for public release. He said the former President told him to err "on the side of transparency and disclosure, and we believe we have done so.”


If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits. 

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

BREAKING: A $2.6M September! Democratic Super PAC To Carpet Bomb McSally (#50ShadesOfDarkMoney)

A Democratic Super PAC focused on key Senate races has purchased approximately $2.6M of ad time for the month of September alone. The ads attacking GOP candidate Martha McSally will be running non-stop in Tucson and Phoenix.

Majority Forward is a 501(c)(4) arm of the Senate Majority PAC and does not disclose its contributors. Samples of the ad orders are below. Majority Forward filed an FEC disclosure tonight (Sunday), but only included $887k of expenditures.

Although the ad has begun to air, it is not yet available online. If you can capture  the video, please email it to us (or, upload and send us a link).

#50ShadesOfDarkMoney scale: Majority Forward earns a 50 for being as dark as dark money comes. The better-known Senate Majority PAC (now aka "SMP") for big Democratic donors spun off Majority Forward during the 2016 election cycle, and it quickly took in - and, distributed - over $35M. Much of that is in the form of grants to other progressive groups.

   Majority Forward IE Disclosure 9/2 by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

   Majority Forward ad buy 9/1 by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

CLOSE RACES, Statewide and In Maricopa County

With approximately 12,000 ballots still being processed by Maricopa County - not all of them will be tabulated for various reasons - 5,000 in Pima County and a few thousand elsewhere, there are only a few candidates still biting their nails and hitting "refresh".

(If you'd like to send us still-close races you're watching - or where there might be a recount or challenge - send an email to "Info @ ArizonasPolitics.com".)

If you would like to show your appreciation for Arizona's Politics reporting, please consider donating to our pool to support OTHER journalism-related nonprofits.  

We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.