The Vice Chairman of the House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee, Rep. Alex Kolodin, issued a letter to county attorneys across the state urging an evaluation of Arizona state laws to ensure the equal application of justice.
Kolodin says the need for the letter is evident “in light of the ongoing persecution of Republicans while Democrats avoid any criminal liability for the same behavior.”
In his letter, Kolodin addresses the dismissal of what he says is “an unfounded lawsuit that sought to undermine the democratic process by removing former President Donald J. Trump from the ballot under the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Kolodin joins attorneys on both sides of the political aisle who are critical of the selective enforcement of laws and call for a balanced application of justice, free from partisan bias.
Kolodin’s letter comes in the wake of reporting that an Arizona grand jury has issued subpoenas to Republican Trump electors in 2020.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, progressive Democrat, has targeted the Republicans as part of a nation-wide campaign.
According to the Washington Post, its source “said the subpoenas seemed to focus on Kenneth Chesebro, an architect of the elector plan who met with Arizona investigators in December. Chesebro did not respond to a request for comment. Other Republicans who had knowledge of the elector plan as it unfolded have also been contacted as part of the inquiry, according to a person familiar with the contact.”
Kolodin letter in entirety:
Dear County Attorneys:
On December 5, 2023, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit here in Arizona calling for former President Donald J. Trump to be removed from the ballot under the Fourteenth Amendment. Castro v. Fontes, No. CV-23-01865-PHX-DLR, 2023 WL 8436435 (D. Ariz. Dec. 5, 2023). From the get-go this lawsuit was a frivolous attempt to stop President Trump from being democratically reelected President by John Anthony Castro, a perennial candidate with Trump Derangement Syndrome. Mr. Castro asserts he is running his own presidential campaign against President Trump in the Republican Primary. But the only campaign Mr. Castro is running is a campaign of election interference. Mr. Castro has filed over two dozen lawsuits challenging President Trump’s eligibility for office under the Fourteenth Amendment, and not one of them has been meritorious. Mr. Castro has engaged in an undemocratic campaign to deny the voters their choice at the ballot box.
Democrats in this state and across the country have been professing ad nauseum over the last four years that they are supporters of democracy, yet they simultaneously target their political opponents through manipulation of our judicial system and purely political prosecutions. Conveniently, they neglect to pursue any charges against Mr. Castro for his campaign of election interference–confirming that they are interested only in cynical, hypocritical, partisan political theater that grabs headlines from the liberal media and helps them fundraise against Republicans by weaponizing the courts.
If Democrats really cared about democracy, they would apply the law to Mr. Castro the same way they apply the law in eve1y other election interference case. Because Mr. Castro is their political ally and only stirs up trouble for their enemies, they are content to let him conduct his election interference unimpeded. If Mr. Castro had interfered with any Republican candidate, Attorney General Kris Mayes would presumably charge him with election interference and conspiracy to commit election interference. After all, Mr. Castro filed a frivolous lawsuit to prevent the Arizona Secretary of State from placing President Trump’s name on the Presidential Preference Election ballot in accordance with A.R.S. § 16-242, and to prevent the Board of Supervisors in eve1y Arizona county from performing their duty to designate polling places under A.R.S. 16-248 and conduct the election.
If I were as crassly partisan as the Democrats, I would demand that your office criminally investigate Mr. Castro for election interference under A.R.S. § 16-1004 and conspiracy to commit election interference under A.R.S. § 13-1003. However, because I have respect for the rule of law and trust that the Arizona judiciary will see those political prosecutions for what they really are, I will refrain from refe1Ting Mr. Castro’s case to you for charges.
As Vice Chair of the Municipal Oversight and Elections (“MOE”) Committee of the Arizona House of Representatives, I have a particular responsibility to exercise appropriate legislative oversight over our elections. To that end, I am writing to you to enquire what changes, if any, should be made to the Arizona Revised Statutes to ensure equal justice under law. Additionally, I would be interested to learn about any other ongoing court cases in which Attorney General Mayes has exceeded or otherwise abused her statutory authority or encroached on your statutory duties or powers.
Please feel free to email or call me anytime to further discuss these important issues. If possible, I would greatly appreciate receiving any information or recommendations by Monday, April 22, 2024. I look forward to speaking with you.
Sincerely,
Arizona State Representative Alex Kolodin