Judge recuses himself from Arizona ‘fake electors’ case after remarks about Harris attacks
An Arizona judge recused himself Tuesday from overseeing the state’s election subversion case against allies of President-elect Trump and ‘fake electors’ after he urged colleagues to call out attacks against Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign.
Defense attorneys asked Maricopa County Judge Bruce Cohen to step aside after the emergence of an Aug. 29 email that they said showed “utter contempt” for Trump.
In the email, Cohen describes regret for not speaking out when Harris was described as a “DEI hire” and said his “blood boiled” when Trump reposted a sexual joke about Harris and Democrat Hillary Clinton, his 2016 presidential race opponent. He also urged fellow white men to stand up for women being treated unfairly and made reference to the Holocaust to underline the importance of being an advocate.
“It is time for me to state my piece or be complicit in the depravity,” he wrote, according to court filings.
The next day, he wrote another email to his fellow judges apologizing for allowing his “passion” to cloud his judgment.
The motion to disqualify Cohen was brought by attorneys for Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman, one of 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump the winner of Arizona’s 2020 presidential election.
The alternate electors scheme relied on then-Vice President Mike Pence to certify slates of Trump-supporting electors in battleground states instead of the true Electoral College votes cast for President Biden. Pence declined to do so on Jan. 6, 2021.
Hoffman attorney Michael Columbo argued the judge holds a “deep-seated personal political bias” that overcame his professional judgment.
“With his liberty at stake in this baseless political prosecution, Senator Hoffman has understandably lost confidence that the Court can adjudicate this case with the impartiality that all parties are due,” Columbo wrote.
A spokesperson for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) told The Hill it is within the judge’s discretion to recuse himself, but as the judge stated in a minute entry, his email was “not reflective of bias,” but rather a “cry for decency and respect.”
“However, the tone and rhetoric used in motions recently submitted by defense counsel to attack Arizona’s chief legal officer and now the independent judiciary are beyond the pale,” said Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor said. “This case has never been motivated by politics – it is rooted solely in pursuing justice and upholding the rule of law. After a careful review of the evidence, an independent grand jury issued these indictments.
“The baseless accusations and inflammatory language used by defense counsel undermine the integrity of the legal process and distract from the facts of this case,” he said.
Mark Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff, and longtime ally Rudy Giuliani are among the 16 total defendants with remaining charges in the Arizona election subversion case. They have pleaded not guilty. Trump himself is not a defendant in the case but is described as “unindicted co-conspirator 1” in charging documents.
The case is set to go to trial on Jan. 5, 2026, though the judge’s recusal could cause delays.
Mayes on Sunday pledged to move forward with the case despite Trump’s victory in the 2024 election.
Updated 12:40 p.m.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
