We have been following the latest controversy of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in his support of a deputy who committed an outrageous act in rifling through the papers of a criminal defense attorney and then removing and copying notes about her client (here). Many questioned the actions of County Attorney Andrew Thomas who has supported Arpaio rather than the rule of law in the matter. Now, Thomas has joined Arpaio in charging the judge who stood up to the sheriff with three felony counts — bribery, obstructing a criminal investigation, and hindering prosecution.
While he has offered little evidence, Thomas held a press conference with Arpaio to make vague allegations of criminal acts by Donahoe regarding the county’s planned court tower, currently under construction. While he admitted that he has no evidence exists that the veteran judge personally has received personal financial benefits, Thomas insisted that Arizona has a “very broad” definition of bribery. Arpaio insists that he and county lawyers have been conspiring to block his investigation into the construction. The evidence: a series of rulings that Arpaio does not like.
The press did not seem to be buying it from Thomas, who has been criticized as a bit of a lap dog for Arpaio. Thomas finally said in frustration: “If I’m not explaining this well, I hope you’ll help me. . . In fairness,” Thomas said, after enduring increasingly pointed questions, “I admit this is a hard thing to believe.”
Notably, Thomas said that Donahoe had been obstructing justice “until about two hours ago.” The end of the obstruction appears to have been the cancellation of a hearing on matters related to the criminal investigation. Thomas explained “The hearing this afternoon was part of an ongoing criminal act,” Thomas said.
In addition, Thomas filed a “racketeering” lawsuit in FEDERAL COURT, accusing the supervisors, their lawyers, and the judges of being a criminal enterprise under RICO laws here).
None of this seems to make sense, but Thomas has brushed off accusations that he and Arpaio have made the county looked like a petty dictatorship. Instead, he found time to praise himself: “Quite candidly, you’re not going to find many prosecutors with the guts to prosecute judges.” Actually, prosecutors routinely investigate and prosecute judges. It is one of the mainstays of this blog. They usually have actual evidence to cite beyond rulings that prosecutors do not like.
The Arizona Republic has run an editorial entitled “Is there no one who will stand up to Thomas, Arpaio?, here. Veteran prosecutors have scoffed at the charges against the judge, here.
These men need to put up some real evidence when they are making charges against a judge — who just happened to send one of Arpaio’s deputies to jail. After roughly two weeks, the press has yet to be able to see any evidence except unhappiness with Donahoe’s rulings. While there may be criminality linked to the construction, the inclusion of the judge would require some clear and established link beyond the fact that he did not do what Arpaio demanded. If they have such evidence, they should produce it or at least describe it to counter the growing view that this is a retaliatory move.
Thomas and Arpaio have developed a sense of unchecked power that threaten core values of the law, where they seem to act on impulse and with utter impunity. While Arpaio may be able to garner support from voters with his theatrics, Thomas must also answer to the bar which has been strangely quiet over the course of this controversy. There actions not only degrade the state of Arizona (which is made to look like banana republic) but they are destroying integrity of the legal system itself.
we love you joe. there are a lot of people out here who agree with you. this illegal immigration is killing this beautiful state. we wish there were more people who would do what your trying to do. dont they understand illegal! thanks for letting me vent. keep up the good work!!!!
rc,
Garlic couldn’t hurt either.
rcampbell:
I hear if you wear a small US Constitution around your neck and carry a wooden stake you’ll be ok in Maricopa.
“The sheriff does indeed seems to be out of control.
But then so are the lawless and criminally-minded Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.”
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Like Fall follows Spring our little Tootie masters yet another non-sequitur! I am anxiously awaiting another post to get the up-to-date prices from the Fang Cun Tea Market.
The sheriff does indeed seems to be out of control.
But then so are the lawless and criminally-minded Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.
They all need to be wearing pink underwear, though that would not be much of a stretch for Mrs. Pelosi.
Certainly not any more than her face.
Well, silly me! The text piece on the ABC website includes some actual investigative journalism!
On page 2, they contrast the sheriff’s claims that his “get tough” approach has reduced crime in the county, with the fact that only about 15% of criminal cases were resolved in an arrest. Roughly 82% of the county’s criminal cases in 2008 “were cleared as a result of exception.” If I understand correctly, “cleared by exception” is a pretty extraordinary circumstance, such as “solving” a crime, but having the suspect flee to a country without extradition. Rather, it would seem that “the toughest sheriff in America,” is labeling cases as closed when, in fact, they failed to do anything about the crime.
On page 3, they discuss a cases where prisoners have died in custody. In one case, video emerged of 14 guards “beating the prisoner and shocking him.” (what’s one of the themes of this blog?) The piece mentions that it was claimed that evidence of the case, including the victim’s crushed larynx may have been “discarded.” The sheriff dismisses that by saying that, “the Medical Examiner had control”. He also points out that his guys obviously did nothing wrong because, “no criminal charges were filed.” Nice. I think that we all know why no charges were filed by the local prosecutor….
On page 4, they mention a “prostitution crackdown” where some of the “volunteers” in the crackdown, uh, ‘indulged in the product’, thus making prosecution difficult. According to the fine sheriff, “They were naked because I allowed them to take their clothes off to develop the case — that’s not unusual. … They had no sex — one time, one little case, one woman accidentally put her hand on one of our officers — one time! And that was it…they’ve done a brilliant job.” What? The Sheriff as part of a sting, allowed citizen “volunteers” to get naked with suspected prostitutes? That sounds insane! Not to mention the fact that as a juror, I’d be seriously wondering about entrapment in that sort of situation.
Erika – about the mass-market, commercial media: I was struck by this Nighline (ABC) piece aired on Dec. 14, 2009:
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/sheriff-joe-arpaio-unapologetic-tactics-illegal-immigrant-crackdowns/story?id=9219341
I didn’t re-watch it, but from what I remember, the piece was entirely a ride-along with Arpaio dealing with his anti-immigrant sweeps. It was clearly shot while this whole deputy-in-court, apology, jail time, kooky charges thing was going down. I wonder if this was arranged by Arpaio’s PR people to get him a good juicing of right-wing fervor while the overboard, political prosecution thing was revving up?
I also wonder if the ABC producers did any of that silly “journalism” stuff while they were in town?
“Arizona has a “very broad” definition of bribery” eh? Given the “interesting” relationship between the prosecutor and the sheriff, that should make them nervous. All in all, when it comes to “bribery” and RICO issues, I sense that Thomas and Arpaio are standing in their glass house starting a rock-throwing fight. Being a Chicagoan, I was recently reminded by former-governor Blago just how stupid people in power can become. Thomas and Arpaio had better be very careful about what they say when speaking over the phone, as Fred, Bill and Igor may be listening…
This Sheriff is out of control and the Feds need to step in and investigate this guy and his regime. When he is in Jail, then they can work on the rest of the county. This story is something out of a novel. Crazy.
RC,
I echo what Buddha stated. Stay far away from that sheriff and his cronies.
rc,
Thanks for the update.
You be careful down there, ya here? In the declining days of this republic, we have to keep an eye out for our brothers in liberty. Just in case a hand is needed.
Hans
Maricopa County is Phoenix and environs.
Erika
National mainstream media may not be covering this story, but here’s some coverage today here in the Phoenix area:
Anti-Thomas rally draws more than 250 people in Phoenix.
comments by Michael Kiefer and JJ Hensley- Dec. 21, 2009 01:26 PM
The Arizona Republic.
Frustration and anger with County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ role in the ongoing legal battle in Maricopa County turned into a public plea Monday afternoon when more than 250 people, mostly attorneys, rallied in front of the Maricopa County court complex in downtown Phoenix.
Tom Ryan, an attorney and brother of associate presiding criminal judge Tim Ryan, called Thomas’ recent decisions to file a criminal complaint against a sitting judge and to file a claim in federal court alleging a vast conspiracy among judges and county officials “an unprecedented assault.”
“Andrew Thomas is a bully and a coward who, when he doesn’t get his way, uses his awesome powers against his opponents,” Tom Ryan said. “By your very conduct Mr. Thomas, you have become a threat to the rule of law and the constitution you swore to uphold.”
In the crowd were defense and civil attorneys, judges and other county officials.
Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant county attorney who briefly stopped to take in the protest, said he wasn’t surprised that defense attorneys don’t agree with Thomas, who has crafted a reputation as a tough-on-crime prosecutor.
“I’d be more concerned if they did like him,” Lotstein said.
The scene also drew critics of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Protestors took the opportunity to waive signs questioning his immigration-enforcement efforts and the agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
mahtso,
Two wrongs do not make a right, but three gets you back where you started.
Arpaio is still a criminal and his clock is ticking if the DOJ isn’t totally in the bag (which is debatable at this point). His “investigation” is compromised by that fact alone. If the judge is up to something? The FBI can investigate him when they go pick up Sheriff Redneck Nazi-boy and shut down his little concentration camps. But what you’ve (The Republic) just described isn’t “Good Sheriff/Bad Judge”. It’s a criminal turf war if accurate. Assuming the judge is up to something and considering what a lying sack of unconstitutional crap Arpaio is as a matter of fact?
I think an actual LEO ought to be in charge of the investigation, not Keystone Quick Draw McGraw. If not the DOJ and FBI, the AZ State AG should be going after them both. Unless you want one of the investigations to end in a mistrial. That’s what usually happens when the prosecution relies on evidence supplied by crooked cops and they get caught.
You say the judge is up to no good? Fine. Bring on the trial without Arpaio being involved in investigating. He’s compromised. I’m all for putting as many bad actors from government behind bars as possible be they Sheriff or Judge or Former Vice President. But if justice is to be even remotely had, that clown Arpaio won’t have a badge much longer.
What is happening in Maricopa County is nothing short of a Constitutional crisis. Why isn’t the mainstream media covering this?
“Oh, thats [sic] right! America doesn’t prosecute criminals anymore if they hold an office.”
The irony is that the Az Republic editorialized that the pending charges against the County Supervisors should be dropped because the alleged crimes are rarely prosecuted (i.e., it was advocating that the County Attorney not prosecute the alleged crimes of office holders).
Two things: (1) The County Attorney asserted that the evidence (against the Judge) is still subject to the non-disclosure requirements related to the grand jury. Whether that is a viable statement, I don’t know. (2) I wonder if this is a case of a weak point overshadowing stronger ones. As I have read the news, it was only the bribery charge that the County Attorney had trouble explaining, not the other counts.
Of course time will tell on all charges against the Judge, but there is dysfunction in the County that goes beyond the Sheriff and County Attorney. (Although it appears that the Sheriff and County Attorney have let themselves become the focus of things, which may be creating more problems than they are solving.)
The Az Republic (through columns) has indicated that the County Courts and the Board of Supervisors have worked to block an investigation into potential corruption related to the new courthouse (i.e., part of the allegations against the Judge). The paper also stated that the County has paid 2 attorneys (who are named in the allegation against the Judge) over $1 million in the past year to attend meetings and review documents related to the courthouse project. (Sorry, but I do not recall if it was the same column or another). My point being that, although I don’t have sufficient knowledge to fully understand the situation (and I accept that there may have been other, perhaps better, ways for the County Attorney to proceed), there does seem to be potential merit to the basic allegations (if one believes the Republic).
I’m traveling thru New Mexico and Arizona right now. I’m going to have to identify where this county is, and avoid it. I’ve no intention to be put in jail over something I never did, just because the Sheriff doesn’t like my face.
My diagnosis of what is wrong in the USA, an extreme excess of righteousness and righteous indignation. Even Saudi Arabia does not exceed America by much in this regard.
Gee I wonder what Arpao and Thomas will do to Alison Dubois (The fictional one), charge her with witchcraft?
I am saying this, I wonder who is the real candied ass in Arizona?
“Quite candidly, you’re not going to find many prosecutors with the guts to prosecute judges.”
_________________________________
Guts are just smelly, gaseous innards without brains to guide them.
This makes as much sense as the homeowner nudist coffee case.
I am dismayed at how the rule of law is deteriorating; from the lowest tiers to the highest Office of the Presidency.
I think its time for Thomas to have an ethics investigation into his conduct. It seems that he is no longer acting in a Neutral Fact finding fashion and has now allowed his client to direct the matters of ligation.
How does one file a state bar complaint against the Prosecutor? I wonder if Arpaio’s puppet will suffer the same fate as Frank Nitti when all is said and done?
Now to Arpaio what must be done to return Arizona back to the Sun God Ra must go before the entire state returns to it roots of rattlesnakes…..
Thomas can have a cell at Leavenworth right next to his Boss Arpaio. It’s kind of funny that the Dalton Gang and the Arpaio Gang have a LOT of similarities. Arpaio just hasn’t started robbing banks yet to finance his little fascist police state. Yet. And I’ve been inside Leavenworth. They’ll love a little soft willed compliant lap dog like Thomas.
Oh, thats right! America doesn’t prosecute criminals anymore if they hold an office.
Well I guess he’ll just have to be satisfied when hordes of angry Arizonans descend upon them both, stripping them to the bone like a swarm of carnivorous insects. Because if the FBI doesn’t arrest these clowns soon? That’s exactly what’s going to happen.
Arpaio and Thomas will soon go after the wrong guy. A guy who is decent, has helped lots of people and has lots of friends who won’t take it lightly that their helping hand is being bitten by Mad Dog Arpaio. They may not be rich people either, but money won’t be the issue. Numbers will be the issue. Arpaio and his gang will harm someone the collective “We the People” of Arizona considers a friend. If Arpaio and Thomas are not in custody by that point?
You get the picture.
If people like these two blatant criminals are allowed to continue to act under the color of authority? “Authority” means jack shit. Soon NO ONE will greet cops except with a gun in their hand. Because badge or not, a criminal is a criminal. The government refuses to prosecute “their own” for treason, torture, fraud, graft and murder. Abuse of power and the Constitutional Rights of citizens is an appetizer at that meal of stupid myopia.
This ISN’T “their” country. “They” being government workers. And I said workers on purpose because elected or appointed, like it or not, realize it or not, ALL OF YOU BASTARDS WORK FOR US. From the county file clerks to the President. This country belongs to We the People – NOT YOU. In the end you are ALL accountable to US. So here it goes!
“You’re all about to get hit by a train because you’re all too stupid, greedy and power mad to see it coming!”
I’ll put on the popcorn. You’ve been warned. If you so choose to ignore said warning, I’m certainly not going to help you. I’ll laugh when you get hit and then put on some more popcorn. But I won’t say “I told you so.”
The continued inaction of the DOJ in instances like this is begging for abusive officials like Arpaio and his minion Thomas to end up meeting some mob justice. I’m not kidding a bit. Unless this dog is brought to heel, he’ll bark at the wrong people soon enough and they’ll just put him down like the rabid mongrel he acts like.
Welcome to Ruby Ridge II.
Only this time you won’t be able to control the fallout, boys. It’s the information age. People will be DEMANDING your heads too. And they’ll come get ’em too if you don’t start doing your damn jobs.
Not a one of those citizens should face prosecution either. Why? When government becomes lawless it is no longer legitimate and has no authority except force. Do you clowns really want to go that path? American’s are the best armed populace on Earth. “Don’t Tread On Me” ring a bell? Unless you are willing to use biologicals and nukes on your own countrymen, you’re going to have a problem. And that response in itself would be a problem too – unless you want us to welcome our Chinese and Canadian liberators like heroes. Now where have I heard that before?
Thugs get the end thugs deserve. When you endorse injustice and special treatment for “the protected class”, you’ll find out soon enough what kind of cake you are baking at the DOJ.
Revolution with anarchy icing.
Be sure to put that little plastic Marie Antoinette on top. You can get a little plastic guillotine at any magic shop (used for the finger trick) to complete the picture I am trying to paint for you dim witted asshats in Washington.
That dim witted asshat remark was SPECIFICALLY for you, “AG” Eric Holder. My cats have a better sense of propriety and ethics than you . . . and your fascist torture endorsing leg humping buddy Yoo too for that matter.
You have thumbs, Eric. I’ve seen them.
Now how about starting to pull them out of your ass and restore the rule of law and the Constitution before something really bad happens?
Or you can keep playing Ashcroft/Gonzales.
“TRAIN!”
Oh, that’s right. It won’t hit you special nitwits.
Again, ask Marie and Louis how that strategy worked for them. Ask the heads, because the bodies won’t answer . . . with being disconnected from their necks and all that bother.
Arizona is #1 in my handicapping of which state will disintegrate first. This bit of news solidifies that ranking.