Three top House Republicans are calling for Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to open an investigation of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and the City Councilmembers for their roles in an illegal gun scheme.
The lawmakers are requesting both criminal and civil investigations following a damning report last month from the Arizona Attorney General finding the City of Phoenix intentionally violated state law approving an ordinance that led to the illegal donation of 599 unclaimed firearms to Ukraine’s national police force.
In a letter sent last week by House Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham, Judiciary Committee Chairman Quang Nguyen, and Vice Chair Selina Bliss, the members outline why the city officials must be held accountable for their actions:
As you may know, following our recent request for a S.B. 1487 Investigation, Attorney General Mayes concluded that the City’s Ordinance violated multiple state laws. Following that investigation, the City had no choice but to repeal its Ordinance within 30 days or risk losing state shared revenues. See A.R.S. § 41-194.01(B)(1)(a). The City repealed the Ordinance in late September. However, the AG’s Report reveals alarming details that confirm the City Council’s lawlessness and egregious disregard for state law.
First, the City “did not address the alleged statutory violations or otherwise provide legal authority supporting its position” to explain how its Ordinance authorizing the donation of 599 unclaimed firearms to the National Police of Ukraine complied with state laws. In fact, the City was indisputably aware of those state laws and the Ordinance’s illegality as early as July 3, when we alerted them that the Ordinance is unlawful and demanded an immediate repeal of the Ordinance. AG’s report, p. 4; Attachment A.
Second, the AG’s report notes that, when faced with the threat of the Attorney General’s investigation, the City’s counsel “disclosed that the City has already completed the firearms transfer contemplated by the Ordinance and the Agreement.” AG’s Report, p. 5. Undeterred, when the City learned that the Attorney General would not halt her investigation based on this factual development, the City “terminated the Agreement [with the firearms exporter] by written notice and urged the [Attorney General] to find that this action mooted the [AG’s] investigation.” Id.
The Attorney General also concluded that her office’s statutory duties in a S.B. 1487 investigation do not include “punish[ing] past violations” because her role is to “encourage state subdivisions to cure ongoing violations” of state law. AG’s Report at 5, n.7.
Neither the AG’s Report nor the City’s repeal of its Ordinance absolves the City Mayor or Councilmembers of criminal or civil liability for their misconduct. Although we agree with the Attorney General’s ultimate legal conclusion that the Ordinance unambiguously violates state law, significant and unsettled legal and factual questions remain. To this day, the City has refused to disclose to us the date that they illegally sent the firearms abroad. We also are not privy to any of the communications that apparently occurred between the City’s officials and the Attorney General’s office in connection with the S.B. 1487 investigation.
In light of the AG’s Report, it is imperative that you initiate an investigation to determine, at a minimum, the extent to which the City’s elected officials conspired to: (1) knowingly and repeatedly violate state law—particularly after we alerted them to the illegality of their conduct; (2) conceal their conduct; and (3) interfere with, coerce, or thwart the Attorney General’s S.B. 1487 investigation through improper means or communications.
In a free society, it is critical that our elected officials follow the rule of law, even when they may disagree with the underlying policy of the law. Citizens in our state are held to this standard every day. Arizonans reasonably expect—and the law demands—that government leaders likewise comply with state law or risk serious consequences for their intentional disregard of the law. Because their alleged conduct occurred in your jurisdiction, we demand that you hold the City’s officials fully accountable for their willful violation of Arizona law and abuse of their authority and seek all appropriate remedies available under Arizona law.
We insist that you investigate these unprecedented actions for potential criminal violations of Title 13. The Mayor and City Councilmembers must also be held fully accountable for facilitating crimes of others through their illegal transfer of weapons, including but not limited to domestic civil offenses, war crimes, and organized crimes defined in Chapter 23 of Title 13. In addition to any criminal and/or civil charges you deem appropriate, we strongly urge you to pursue a quo warranto action under A.R.S. § 12-2042, based on the Mayor’s and City Councilmembers’ misconduct and unlawful exercise of public office.