Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs apparently does not believe there have been enough charges filed against former President Donald Trump, and she made that quite clear on Friday.
But not without suffering a huge backlash.
At an event in Phoenix, according to KTAR, Hobbs was asked, “Would you like to see the Arizona attorney general follow suit with Georgia and Michigan and move forward on pressing charges against President Trump?”
Hobbs replied: “Absolutely. I have been an advocate for holding folks involved in trying to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election accountable, and this is part of that process.”
“Accountability is critical. I don’t think we’re going to change direction until there’s accountability at the top level,” she continued. “And this is an important step forward that I think should move forward and play out in the legal process.”
Arizona went for Trump in 2016 by some 91,000 votes but swung to President Joe Biden in 2020 by about 10,500 votes. Following the election, Trump raised integrity questions, especially in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, amid widespread reports of ballot machine problems.
After Hobbs, who was secretary of state during the 2020 and 2022 elections, made her comments, her 2022 GOP opponent, Kari Lake, called her out.
“In 2020 @katiehobbs ran a sham election & gave @JoeBiden Arizona In 2022 Hobbs ran a sham election & gave herself a promotion. Now, she’s using her illegitimate office to order her illegitimate AG to INDICT @realDonaldTrump & Grassroots Arizonans. If the fake news is wondering THIS is what a threat to democracy looks like,” Lake, a former Phoenix area newscaster, wrote on X.
It should be noted that no courts have found any evidence suggesting that there was foul play during the 2020 or 2022 elections.
That said, on election day last year, ballot printers malfunctioned in as many as 59 percent of voting districts in Maricopa County.
The Western Journal noted:
Long lines formed, and because Republicans vote 3-to-1 over Democrats on Election Day, GOP candidates like Lake and Abe Hamadeh, the GOP nominee for attorney general, were most impacted by the chaos.
Hamadeh lost his race to Democrat Kris Mayes by 511 votes of the over 2.5 million ballots cast, while Hobbs’ margin of victory over Lake by was 17,117 votes, or about 0.6 percent.
Lake’s election challenge of Hobbs’ win is currently on appeal after losses at the trial court level.
Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, responded to Hobbs’ remarks during an interview on Newsmax TV.
“Well, I guess cue Donald Trump’s next indictment,” she told host Robb Schmitt.
“If you look at the pattern of things and the ways they played out, every time there is some big, breaking news about Joe and Hunter Biden and their shady business dealings and the way they’ve been selling out this country for decades, all of a sudden you have another Donald Trump indictment,” she added.
This is disgusting.@katiehobbs is just waiting for her signal from @JoeBiden to order her AG to indict @realDonaldTrump.
Hobbs was installed into office because they knew she'd be Biden's puppet.
She doesn't work for Arizonans.
Her strings are pulled by the Swamp. pic.twitter.com/JimeHsmb9Q
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 17, 2023
Following her remarks, Hobbs’ office put out a statement appearing to walk them back.
“Gov. Hobbs misheard the question. She was responding generally about her belief that anyone who breaks the law must be held accountable for working to overturn free and fair elections,” communications director Christian Slater said.
“As she has consistently stated, she believes in allowing the legal process to proceed independently and without political interference,” the statement added.
Trump has been indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is facing two indictments by special counsel Jack Smith, and was just indicted again by Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis.
Earlier, Lake “filed a total of 10 claims alleging that the election was stolen from her, but in December, eight of them were dismissed by Judge Peter Thompson. A trial in the same month resulted in the remaining two claims getting tossed,” Newsweek reported.
“Since December, Lake has continued to appeal her contests, filing several. In March, the state Supreme Court dismissed six of seven claims brought by Lake regarding the 2022 election. The remaining one was eventually dismissed by an Arizona trial court in May. The most recent ruling by the high court on Wednesday was in response to her appeal filed on the last day of May,” the outlet added.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
