'God knows the truth': AZ House GOP Rep. expelled by Republicans for ethics violations

12 April 2023

Arizona State House Republicans voted to expel Rep. Liz Harris (R) Wednesday for lying about welcoming a "conspiracy theorist" to the House to falsely testify against state lawmakers, CNN reports.

"The resolution calling for" Harris' expulsion, according to NPR, says she "engaged in disorderly behavior in violation of House Rule 1, thereby eroding the public trust in the legislative process."

NPR further notes the state GOP's "move to expel Harris, who's pushed baseless claims about the 2020 and 2022 elections, comes as members of the state's Republican Party have in recent years led Arizona to become a hive of election denialism."

"Arizona House Democrats issued a statement," according to CNN, "supporting the expulsion, saying that 'misinformation, lies and conspiracies are not harmless, and it's not just politics.' They noted that the lies presented in Breger’s televised testimony were picked up by partisan media and social media influencers."

NPR reports:

The vote came a day after the release of a House Ethics Committee report, which concluded that Harris knew, or was at least aware, that a woman she arranged to testify at the Capitol would claim, without evidence, that a host of elected officials and judges, including Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, took bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel and committed other crimes, such as money laundering.

The woman, Gilbert, Ariz., insurance agent Jacqueline Breger, also claimed during the February hearing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "controls" the government and played a key role in money laundering schemes.

The Democrats added, "The integrity of our institution was damaged in that moment. That damage continues to accumulate, and for that there must be accountability.

CNN reports:

Forty-six Arizona representatives in the GOP-controlled House voted to remove her from her elected position, meeting a two-thirds threshold to expel lawmakers. Thirteen members opposed her expulsion.

According to NPR, Breger did not offer "evidence to support the outlandish claims" — however, "a video of her testimony in front of election committees exploded on the internet in the days following the hearing," prompting #CartelKatie to trend on Twitter.

GOP House Speaker Ben Toma, who NPR reports was "one of the lawmakers falsely accused of criminal activity," emphasized "that was problematic enough to merit the ethics investigation and expulsion.

He added, "Each member could make up their own mind on whether or not Rep. Harris did, in fact, not only perpetrate this to begin with, but then contradict herself numerous times during the ethics hearing process."

According to NPR, the report noted the GOPer "lied to the panel when she claimed she had no idea Breger would make such wild accusations.

Furthermore, The Washington Post reports Harris said prior to the House vote, "I didn't lie and God knows the truth. The truth will come out," and following the vote, the ousted lawmaker "quietly left the House floor after the roll call vote."

CNN's full report is available at this link. NPR's report is here.

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