Ben Giles Profile picture
editor @kjzzphoenix | reporter @npr | "Quite the sleuth journalist," according to a public official in a FOIAed email | send tips to bgiles@kjzz.org.
Sep 27, 2021 7 tweets 3 min read
BREAKING: A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled AZ GOP lawmakers violated constitutional rules when it passed significant new policies, like a ban on mask mandates, in the state budget.

That means the laws, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, are unconstitutional. The ruling is sure to be appealed. But the judge agreed with a coalition of school groups, who argued including certain policies in the budget bills violated the AZ Constitution's single-subject rules and title requirements. Background: npr.org/2021/09/13/103…
Sep 24, 2021 46 tweets 15 min read
Away we go in the #azsenate, where Cyber Ninjas and other contractors are going to present their findings from a GOP-led election review in Maricopa County. Senate President @FannKfann said of the main finding from the the review (that @POTUS beat Donald Trump in Maricopa County) in a draft report leaked last night: "That is a true statement. That is a true statement."
May 20, 2021 4 tweets 3 min read
Important reminder: GOP Senate President @FannKfann signed an agreement indemnifying Maricopa County from the cost to procure new equipment. @FannKfann Here's the relevant section of the indemnification agreement, signed by Fann on April 20, just before @maricopacounty turned over the materials she subpoenaed:
May 18, 2021 25 tweets 12 min read
Not sure if this link will work for everyone, but it appears the @AZSenateGOP's media event is up and running. Follow here:
azleg.gov/videoplayer/?c… @AZSenateGOP No one was allowed to attend in person, so sorry to those who can't watch the feed reliably (me included -- it's cut in and out several times already.)
Jan 7, 2021 25 tweets 12 min read
Arizona Republican elected officials have reacted to the siege at the U.S. Capitol by blaming, and this is not a comprehensive list, Democrats, Doug Ducey, other Republicans, Antifa, and Congress.

Here's a look back at the last 24 hours in tweets... In this tweet, @RepGosar repeats baseless allegations that the presidential election was stolen and hints that leftists maybe had a role in the mob?
Nov 9, 2020 9 tweets 2 min read
Moving on to the underlying complaint.

Kory Langhofer, attorney for the Trump campaign, acknowledges that the number of overvotes their case would address "may not make a difference" in the race their interested in: @realDonaldTrump's re-election. @realDonaldTrump An attorney for @katiehobbs said, and this was fuzzy so I'm not 100% sure, that there aren't a lot of overvotes at stake...

She said an exact number but I couldn't make it out.
Nov 9, 2020 6 tweets 1 min read
"SharpieGate" isn't necessarily dead.

Attorneys withdrew that case on Saturday. But since then they've tried to get the case merged with the Trump campaign's new complaint about "overvotes."

BUT, at a hearing happening now, the judge is skeptical of allowing that... The timeline is interesting. HOURS AFTER attorneys for the Sharpie plaintiffs withdrew their case, the Trump campaign filed a complaint about overvotes.

The Sharpie attorneys then filed a motion to transfer with the judge handling the Sharpie case.

That judge denied it.