Judge recuses himself from Arizona election fraud case after calling for response to attacks on Kamala Harris

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge recused himself from presiding Tuesday. The Arizona Fraud Case after an email surfaced in which he asked fellow justices to speak out against attacks on Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

In an Aug. 29 email, Maricopa County Judge Bruce Cohen lamented that he did not speak out when Harris was called a “DEI hire,” believes white men should speak out against the unfair treatment of women, and drew a historical lesson from the Holocaust about the need to speak out. when people are attacked. Cohen did not specify who made the comments regarding Harris.

“We cannot allow our colleagues who identify as ‘people of color’ to stand alone when there are those who can argue that their ascension to office was a ‘share hire’ and not based solely on exclusivity,” he said judge to his colleagues. in email.

Cohen later wrote another email telling his fellow judges that he had allowed his passion to cloud his views and apologized to anyone affected by his mistake in using an email forum for judges that was not appropriate for unsolicited comments.

Lawyers for Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman, who faces nine felony charges in the case, asked for the judge’s removal, arguing that Cohen “carries deeply ingrained personal political bias that has overridden his professional judgment” and that their client has lost confidence in the judge. impartiality.

Hoffman is one of 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely claiming then-President Donald Trump won Arizona in the 2020 election. They include a former state party chairman, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state legislators. Two former Trump aides and five lawyers with ties to Trump, including Rudy Giulianicharges were also filed in this case. All 18 people are charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy.

“Given the statements made by the judge, I think it would be appropriate for him to recuse himself,” Arizona lawyer Mark L. Williams, who represents Giuliani, said after Cohen’s decision. “In my opinion, the case against Giuliani and the other defendants is falling apart, and I think the attorney general should just roll up the case and close it.”

Arizona Attorney General spokesman Chris Mayes declined to comment on the judge’s recusal.

In court records, Cohen said the original email was a matter of propriety and did not reflect personal bias, but he acknowledged that others might perceive it differently than he intended.

Cohen, appointed by Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2005, was scheduled to step down in January.

Most of the defendants asked Cohen to drop the charges under an Arizona law that prohibits the use of frivolous lawsuits to try to silence critics. The law has long provided protections in civil cases, but the Republican-led Legislature amended it in 2022 to cover people facing most criminal charges.

Cohen recused himself before deciding to dismiss the case, which will be assigned to another judge.

The defendants argued that Mays tried to use the charges to silence them behind their constitutionally protected speech about the 2020 election and actions taken in response to the outcome of the race. They say Mays campaigned to investigate fraudulent electors and showed bias against Trump and his supporters.

Prosecutors said the defendants had no evidence to back up their claims of retaliation and that they had crossed the line from protecting speech to fraud. Mayes’ office also said the grand jury that returned the indictment wanted to consider Trump’s accusationbut prosecutors urged them not to do so.

Two of the accused have already completed their cases.

Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with Giuliani, signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, which led to the charges against her being dropped. Republican activist Lorraine Pellegrino also became the first person to be convicted in an Arizona case where she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation.

The remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Trump has not been charged in Arizona, but the indictment names him as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia And Wisconsin also brought criminal charges related to the voter fraud scheme.

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Associated Press writer Anita Snow contributed to this report.