Readers might recall that back in April, a grand jury in Maricopa County, Arizona, indicted nearly 20 Republicans and associates of Donald Trump, after Democrat state Attorney General Kris Mayes brought a case against 2020 “fake electors” on felony charges of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy:
A grand jury in Arizona has handed down indictments against 11 Arizona Republicans at the center of the “fake elector” controversy of 2020 – in which Republicans were attempting to nominate and send “alternate” electors to Washington D.C. – electors who supported the theory that the 2020 election was stolen.
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The 11 Republicans met at the Arizona GOP headquarters a month after the 2020 election and signed a certificate claiming to be the 11 electors from the state. They posted the letter to social media and sent it to Congress.
My colleague Joe Cunningham added that another party mentioned in the indictment is “unindicted co-conspirator 1,” who is believed to be former president Donald Trump.
Read more: Arizona Grand Jury Indicts 11 Republicans, Trump Associates in 2020 ‘Fake Elector’ Scheme
The grand total of those indicted ended up as 18, including former Trump administration chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, former Arizona GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward, and others.
On Wednesday, the judge in that case recused himself, after a sheaf of emails surfaced showing bias toward 2024 Democrat presidential nominee, Kamala Harris:
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen, the judge presiding over Arizona’s case against pro-Trump fake electors, has removed himself from the job following allegations of bias.
The Arizona Daily Independent reported on the emails, which were obtained by Arizona state Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Travis Grantham.
In the emails, “Cohen demanded that all judges and all commissioners — especially those who were white and/or male — defend Kamala Harris and other people of color”:
Cohen took offense with the rhetoric surrounding the selection of Harris for the Democratic presidential candidate as the “DEI hire” and the questioning of her integrity with claims that she would be promiscuous with generals in the Situation Room.
He wrote:
“It does matter if your chromosomes are made up of ‘XY.’ It matters even more if your skin color is characterized as ‘white’ or Caucasian. We must speak out. We must tell those within our circles of influence that this s**t must stop. NOW! We cannot allow our female colleagues to feel as if they stand alone when there are those who may intimate that their ascension was anything other than based upon exceptionalism. We cannot allow our colleagues who identify as being a ‘person of color’ to stand alone when there are those may claim that their ascension was an ‘equity hire’ rather than based solely upon exceptionalism. We no longer can stay silent merely because others are exercising their right to free speech — we, too, have that same right and must exercise it.”
Also contained in the emails was an exhortation to defend Harris against criticism by “Nazis”:
Cohen equated Harris’ critics to the Nazis, and said that those who refused to stand up for Harris as well as other females and “colleagues who identify as being a ‘person of color’” were as bad as those who allowed the evil of the Holocaust to take place.
The Daily Independent reported that the following day, Judge Cohen transmitted another email to his judicial colleagues–an apology:
“Earlier this week I allowed my passion to cloud my judgment and sent an email using this as my forum. After reflection, I have come to realize that this was not proper use of this forum. I sincerely apologize to anyone put off or negatively impacted by my lapse of judgment.”
On Wednesday, the judge went a step futher, announcing in a court document his decision to step aside on the 2020 electors case. He wrote:
“This court is also mindful of the appearances the subject email may have created for those who have interpreted the communication differently than intended. Out of a commitment to justice, even the appearance of bias cannot be allowed to undermine the fundamental fairness that is extended by the court to all who come before it.”
Former Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano first appointed Cohen to the Maricopa County bench in 2005. His term ends in January 2025.
The recusal springs from a filing with the Arizona Superior Court by David Warrington and Michael Columbo, the lawyers representing Arizona state Senator Jake Hoffman in the suit. They questioned whether Cohen could remain impartial in light of his emails, writing in part:
“While Judge Cohen is entitled to his political opinions and speech, his rhetoric and exhortation precisely mirrors the evidence of hostile partisan political zealotry at the heart of the motions to dismiss [the case] that have been languishing before the Court for months.”
You can read the filing here.
The “fake electors” trial is scheduled to begin in January 2026. RedState will keep you posted on developments in this story.
