Recall Arpaio Leaders Issue Own Cease and Desist Demand, To County Republican Chair

Two of the leaders of the group gathering signatures to recall Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have issued their own "cease and desist" demand today, to the chair of the Maricopa County Republican Committee.

The Phoenix New Times was the first to report on and reproduce the letter from Randy Parraz and Chad Snow on Citizens for a Better Arizona letterhead.  They refer to comments that MCRC Chair A.J. LaFaro made last week in his "call to arms" for a "shadow army".  He called the recall proponents "thugs" and "domestic terrorists".  The letter notes that such statements are "defamatory."

At 2:00pm, a new group supporting the Sheriff is holding a news conference to issue their cease and desist demand letter to the recall proponents, claiming that the recall is illegal because it is too early and does not show sufficient grounds to recall.

The timing of the new letter - especially considering the gap between LaFaro's remarks and this response - seems designed to make the pro-Joe folks think about the raised stakes.

The Phoenix New Times has also released an article that will hit newsstands tomorrow, with apparent inside comments from the no-media-allowed "call to arms" meeting that LaFaro called (and Arpaio campaign manager Chad Willems apparently spoke at).  The article promises that they will put up video from that meeting shortly.


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Rep. Raul Grijalva, 3 Other Democratic Reps., In Mideast Meeting With Israeli and Palestinian Officials; Sponsored By J Street

Yesterday, Arizona's Politics noted that Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-CD3) was celebrating his 65th birthday in Israel.  His Facebook post raised a lot of questions in this reporter's (and at least one reader's - check out the comments) mind.

I received some of the answers this morning from Grijalva's Communications Director, Adam Sarvana (who is not traveling with the Congressman).  

Grijalva's trip is sponsored by the upstart organization called J Street.  J Street bills itself as a "pro-Israel, pro-peace" PAC which is pushing for a two-state solution to reaching a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.  

(J Street is a more peace-oriented Israel support organization than the influential AIPAC ("American Israel Public Affairs Committee", which is not a PAC) that generally defends the Israeli government in the U.S., and is often seen as preferring a more hard-line Israeli government policy.)

Sarvana notes that the other Representatives on the trip are "Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Hank Johnson (D-GA).... They’re meeting with government officials, business leaders, settlers, Palestinian officials, and representatives of NGOs. He’s flying back tomorrow."

As we get more details, we will share them with you.




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BREAKING NEWS: Surprise Tea Party Issuing Legal Demand That Arpaio Recall Group Cease and Desist

(edited to correct spelling of "Klayman")

The new group formed by the Surprise Tea Party Patriots ("STPP") is holding a press conference Wednesday afternoon with the founder of the conservative Judicial Watch to announce that they are sending a legal demand to the Respect Arizona committee that they immediately cease and desist from attempting to recall Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Earlier today, it became known that the STPP - which has teamed with Arpaio on his investigation into President Obama's birth certificate - was planning legal action to stop the recall effort, which began in the end of January and has four months to collect approximately 500,000 petition signatures.  It then became known that they had formed a limited liability company ("LLC") called Citizens To Protect Fair Election Results, LLC ("CPFER").

The press conference will be at 2:00pm, and Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman will be appearing as a private attorney for CPFER.  The media advisory claims that the recall is "illegal and unconstitutional".  It then seems to indicate that the grounds for that claim are "(S)ince Arpaio was only recently reelected to a sixth term on November 6, 2012, Respect Arizona's petition is not only untimely but fails to set forth any valid grounds for a recall so soon after this election."

However, as Arizona's Politics noted in response to a reader's question on January 29, the six-month "waiting period" for a recall ONLY applies to an office-holder's first term in the office.  "The statute (A.R.S. 19-202) specifically notes that it does not apply when the person is re-elected to the same office.  And, the following section states that the "valid grounds" shall simply be a "a general statement of not more than two hundred words stating the grounds of the demand for the recall".  (It will be interesting to hear what else Klayman has to back up the demand.)

If the recall organizers fail to immediately cease and desist from their efforts, the advisory notes that "legal actions will be pursued against Respect Arizona and its officers personally." (emphasis added)  The known officers of Respect Arizona are chair William Fisher and treasurer Robert Unferth. 





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VIEW: New Anti-Arpaio-Recall Group Forms LLC, Ready To File Legal Action?

Earlier today, Channel 12 political reporter extraordinaire Brahm Resnick noted on his Facebook page that the Surprise Tea Party had teamed up with well-known attorney Larry Klayman to prepare to issue a "cease and desist" order against the Respect Arizona group collecting signatures to attempt to recall Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

This evening, Arizona Republic reporter Michelle Lee tweeted that the leaders of that Tea Party group has formed a committee.

Here is the Corporation Commission filing for the Citizens To Protect Fair Election Results, LLC.

There is not yet a committee filing shown on the Arizona Secretary of State's website, which is where a political committee's organization would be filed.  (The SoS generally posts these filings in close to real time.)  An LLC (limited liability company) is a good corporate structure and is a good entity for filing a legal action under, because of the difficulty in holding the individual members of the company liable (for, say, legal fees in the event of an unsuccessful legal action).  However, any actions this committee takes will (almost) undoubtedly qualify it as a "political committee" that will require it to file with the Secretary of State and disclose contributions and expenditures (eventually).

Klayman, and the Wises, declined to respond to Arizona's Politics inquiries.  Another member of the Surprise Tea Party did respond and asked me to wait for either the Wises or for the announcement.  He reminded me that the Surprise Tea Party is the organization that "was successful in getting Sheriff Joe to ask the Cold Case Posse to investigate whether Obama meets the Constitutional requirements to be POTUS."

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READ: Gov. Brewer Lists Qualities She Admires In Nation's Leaders

The Governor's Office re-sent me Gov. Jan Brewer's Presidents' Day message this morning, which I took as an indication that they really, REALLY want me to post it.  Frankly, I had ignored it the first time it hit my inbox over the weekend - these kind of things are not usually very newsworthy or interesting.

But, lo and behold, I found this one to be both.

Perhaps, it is because of the Governor's well-known interaction and feelings toward our current President;  her message pointedly - and, properly - honors "past" Presidents.  But, more likely, it is because she notes qualities that she admires, which would apply equally to leading the nation as to leading the state.

She pays the somewhat-obligatory homage to Washington and Lincoln before praising her "favorite president (sic) and personal hero, Ronald Reagan" for his "eternal optimism and shining patriotism".  The Governor - love her or not - seems to seek to emulate those qualities.

Brewer then gets to the meat of her message.  She notes that the "greatest presidents put our country's hopes and dreams before their own."  She points out their "demonstrated dignity", "statesmanship even through the darkest of hours", and that they make us feel assured.  She praises their "optimism, humility and grace."

Her complete message is below the jump:

Rep. Grijalva Spending Birthday In Israel

(UPDATE #2, 2/20, 11:00AM:  New post with more details of trip from Congressman's office. bit.ly/AZp470 .)

(UPDATE: Rep. Grijalva turns 65 today.)

Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-CD3) is spending his birthday - and the Congressional recess - in Israel, "learning more about our diplomatic relationship and the need for a better approach."

The announcement came not in the form of a news release, but in the form of an "it's my birthday" message on Facebook.  Grijalva is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which has concentrated on national issues.  Similarly, Grijalva has not spoken out often on foreign policy issues.  Two examples of weighing in on the Israel-Palestinian tensions are when he co-sponsored a 2008 resolution condemning indiscriminate Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel and when he co-signed a letter in 2010 calling for Israel to halt its blockade of Gaza in response to rocket attacks.

Here is his Facebook post:

"Today's my birthday, and I'm in Israel learning more about our diplomatic relationship and the need for a better approach. It's a good trip and I'm meeting a lot of great people. Wish me good luck! I'll be back in a few days."

No word yet on who is sponsoring the trip, whether other Congresspeople are with him, who he is meeting with or where he is going, and other fun details.  We will update as available.

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WATCH: Arizona Reps. Kirkpatrick and Sinema Join Bipartisan Freshman "United Solutions" Caucus To Address Fiscal Crisis; Sinema On Fox News

Arizona Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) joined nine other freshman Democrats and 21 freshman Republican lawmakers in forming a "United Solutions" caucus to fight for a bi-partisan solution to the fiscal crisis (crises) facing our federal government.  Sinema discussed the caucus this morning on Fox News along with the lead GOP member, Robert Pittenger (R-NC).

The "Gang of 32" held their news conference on Thursday, at which both Kirkpatrick and Sinema spoke of the need for Congress to forge solutions across the aisle.

The group sent their "Statement of Principles" to the House leaders from both parties (Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi) and to President Barack Obama.  Today, Sinema said that Pelosi had told them to "go for it", and Pittenger agreed that the GOP leadership had also encouraged the group of frosh lawmakers.



Here is the letter, which calls for no longer accepting piecemeal solutions. The principles do not call for any new revenues, but do call for finding additional spending cuts.

We'll upload the Fox News video of Sinema and Pittenger when (if) it becomes available.



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WATCH: Rep. Kirkpatrick Speaking Out For Violence Against Women Act, Importance Of Indian Nations

Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) took to the airwaves and to the House floor this week to speak out in favor of the Violence Against Women Act ("VAWA") that was reauthorized by the U.S. Senate this week on a 78-22 vote (Arizona Senators Flake and McCain both voted "aye").

The VAWA is facing tougher sledding in the GOP-controlled House, where the major expressed concern is a new section that would allow Native American Nations to prosecute non-Native Americans who attack women on tribal lands.  To date, that has been a loophole that has left some cases in what should be - in more ways than one - a "no man's land".

Kirkpatrick's district makes up much of the eastern half of Arizona and contains a high percentage of sovereign tribal lands.  Thus, she has been particularly outspoken on this issue.  Early in the week, she joined a group of House Democrats in calling for their colleagues on the other side of the aisle to take up the bill.




On Friday, she took to the House floor to connect the issue to the looming sequestration cuts.  House Democrats were protesting that the GOP was recessing for a week when they should be trying to prevent the across-the-board cuts from going into place.




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