First up, the abortion ban repeal.
From AZ Mirror, written by Gloria Rebecca Gomez -
AZ House has voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Supreme Court
After two weeks of thwarted attempts, the Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal a near-total abortion ban from 1864, with three Republican lawmakers breaking from their party to join Democrats in striking it down.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the 1864 law, which carries with it a mandatory prison sentence for doctors who provide an abortion for any reason other than saving a woman’s life, over a 15-week gestational ban passed in 2022.
My guess: the Center for Arizona Policy is tugging on every leash string available to it in an attempt to have the Rs in the Senate kill the repeal.
Next, the indictment.
From AZ Mirror (again), written by Caitlin Sievers -
Grand jury indicts 18 in fake electors scheme, including two AZ state senators
A grand jury has indicted 18 people, including two Arizona state senators and the former head of the Arizona Republican Party, in a fake elector scheme that aimed to install Donald Trump as the president after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has not released the names of everyone who was indicted, but all 11 fake electors were charged:
- Kelli Ward, former AZGOP chairman
- Arizona Sen. Jake Hoffman, leader of the Arizona Freedom Caucus
- Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern, member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus
- Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point USA CEO
- Michael Ward, husband of Kelli Ward
- Nancy Cottle, a Republican who’s been active in local politics for a decade
- James Lamon, a failed 2022 U.S. Senate candidate
- Robert Montgomery, former chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee
- Samuel Moorhead, former chairman of Gila County Republican Party
- Lorraine Pellegrino, former president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women
- Gregory Safsten, former executive director of the AZGOP
There were also seven people indicted whose names were redacted.
CNN has information/guesses on the redacted indictees.
From CNN -
Meadows, Giuliani among indicted in Arizona in latest 2020 election subversion case
A grand jury in Arizona has handed up an indictment against former President Donald Trump’s allies over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.
Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers; former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; and Rudy Giuliani are among those who have been indicted, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
{snip}
While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”
{snip}
Other individuals charged in the Arizona indictment but whose names have been redacted, the source familiar with the investigation told CNN, include Trump allies Mike Roman, a 2020 campaign official; Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis; and conservative attorney John Eastman.
{snip}
The Republican Party of Arizona also slammed the indictments in a statement Wednesday.
“Today’s indictments by Attorney General Kris Mayes represent a blatant and unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial power, aimed solely at distracting the public from the critical policy debates our country should be focusing on as we approach the 2024 election,” the statement said.
There are a lot of "nice" days in Arizona (the weather here is fantastic..outside of July and August (and late June), but there are few "good" ones.
Wednesday was a good one.
