A Senate Democrat filed an ethics complaint Monday asking for an investigation to determine whether two Republicans should be temporarily removed from their committee assignments following their felony indictments for involvement in the 2020 “fake electors” scheme.
Sen. Brian Fernandez, D-Yuma, sent the 17-page complaint to the Senate Ethics committee chairman, Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, asking that he launch a probe of the two Freedom Caucus senators.
Sens. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, and Anthony Kern, Glendale, were indicted alongside 16 other Republican political figures last month for claiming to be the electors for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Their felony charges have raised support from people who believe the election was rigged, while others have pressed the two to resign from their positions.
Their indictment is not the sole cause for Fernandez’s complaint.
“Allowing these two Senators to use their elected position to in any way attempt to fight their charges or target Attorney General Mayes, which Senator Kern has already committed to doing, would be an inappropriate use of tax dollars,” Fernandez said in the letter. “It would also be just plain wrong.”
Kern is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he launched a “special inquiry” into Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, on Feb. 2 because she “reversed the state's position in several significant cases and has refused to defend state law.” The balancing act from the Glendale senator has yet to bring new information forward, but provides an example of Fernandez’s further reasoning for removing the two from their leadership roles.
“I agree with the Senate President that every American has the right to due diligence, but we owe Arizona the piece (sic) of mind to know that indicted members of this body cannot further weaponize the offices that they hold,” Fernandez said in a prepared statement.
The complaint said the two Freedom Caucus senators’ indictment was a “huge procedural hurdle to overcome,” thus alleging they violated a federal or state law, a Senate ethics conduct rule, violated public trust and engaged in improper conduct.
In length, the document offered a timeline of election denial theory and litigation centered around the 2020 election, primarily claiming the two lawmakers succumbed to pressure from Trump and his “lies” in presenting themselves as the state’s electors.
Fernandez said that his complaint came with an “abundance of caution,” emphasizing his call that they be only temporarily removed from their leadership positions. This complaint was filed nearly a month after Fernandez initially asked Sen. President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, and Farnsworth to discipline Kern and Hoffman for their indictments, which Petersen brushed off.
“The Senator and his colleagues in the Democrat party seem to have forgotten our citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and they have the right to due process,” Petersen said in a press release at the time. “There must be a conviction from a court of law or recommendation from the Senate Ethics Committee before taking any rash action.”
Fernandez concluded the complaint by stating an ethics investigation would be an opportunity for Petersen and Farnsworth to provide Kern and Hoffman “due process.”
“If they’re found innocent, don’t get me wrong, give them back the committees,” Fernandez said. “But in the meantime, I feel like there should be some rule that if you’re indicted, you get your committees stripped from you.”
In a text message, Kern said Fernandez is “playing politics again.” Kern appeared in Maricopa County court for his arraignment Tuesday morning and pleaded not guilty.
Hoffman and Farnsworth did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Petersen declined to comment.
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