The Arizona House voted on Wednesday to expel former Republican state lawmaker Liz Harris.
This comes after the House Ethics Committee released a report Tuesday saying Harris broke a house rule during a presentation.
The complaint was filed by Democratic Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton of Tucson on March 6. She says she did so because she felt Harris actions at that presentation “truly undermine the democratic process.”
In a 46 to 13 bipartisan vote, Arizona reps ousted the freshman GOP lawmaker after a nine-page ethics report found Harris broke house rules by damaging the integrity of the house during the February 23 committee hearing.
READ FULL TEXT OF HOUSE RESOLUTION TO EXPEL REP. HARRIS
“Its pretty shocking when those things happen,” Hamilton said.
Hamiltons complaint stemmed from that February meeting where Harris invited a guest speaker who made unfounded accusations of bribery, money laundering and election fraud against members of the legislature, including Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs.
“Those were some pretty wild allegations that hadnt even been tried in a court of law,” Hamilton said. “It got thrown out because the judge found the allegations were too fantastical to be believable.”
Former state GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward would fire off a series of tweets. One tweet read, “Never underestimate the stupidity of politicians with bruised egos.”
Hamilton said that with Harris now gone, lawmakers can get back to what they were elected to do: serve the public
“There is so much happening that needs our attention, and chasing conspiracy theories down rabbit holes regarding our elections is not what we were sent here to do,” she said.
Republicans will have 21 days to nominate three candidates to fill the vacancy. The Maricopa Board of Supervisors will then choose which candidate will fill the rest of Harris two-year term. Only then will the Republicans regain their one-vote majority in the house.
Former Rep. Harris has not returned our request for a comment.
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