That was Fast...

Things are quickly falling apart for Andy Thomas.

Last Friday I mentioned that under Rule 3.8, Prosecutors must uphold special ethical requirements.

So when Judge Leonardo referenced Andy Thomas's "attempts to gain political advantage by prosecuting those who oppose him politically...", the judge was pointing out an obvious ethical violation. 

I guess I wasn't the only one to notice that point.

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Supreme Court has appointed a special investigator to look into accusations of misconduct against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

That's bad, but it's not the end of Thomas's troubles.  The next shoe is the tort case. 

Malicious prosecution is a tort and if a civil litigant obtains a ruling that Thomas abused his office, it could cost the County tens of millions of dollars.  Multiply that by the number of people whom Thomas has targeted, intimidated, abused or prosecuted and we are dealing with a very large number indeed.

So what's next?  Actually, it's what's NOT next.  Thomas can't possibly resign to run for Attorney General.  Frankly he will be lucky to be an attorney by the time he would take office--and by resigning, he would lose the resources and protection that his office affords.  So he's going to stay at the county and hope that his office can continue to pay his legal bills.

So what are the implications...?  Well, for one thing, there isn't a conservative Republican in the Attorney General's race.  Remember that with an August 24th primary, Conservatives are assuming that they have a turnout advantage.  I like Tom Horne, and I've worked well with him, but he's not a favorite among Conservative voters. 

So someone is going to jump in the race pretty quickly.

Comments

[Winnie]

Maybe some of the folks with historical knowledge of the AZSCAM prosecutions in the early 90s can address the issue of how politicians are prosecuted in this state. Many of the ingredients are the same: "white hat" county attorney, numerous elected officials implicated, judges accused of being crooked, etc. Other than not having a Tony Stedino, can anyone tell us what's different this time?

[Whiskey Jack]

This is just another left-wing attack by the state bar. Their previous politically motivated attacks on Thomas have fizzled. Now they are trying to take a left-wing Pima County judge's unsupported diatribe(how does the judge know what Thomas' motivations are, is he a mind-reader?!?) and trump up a bar charge out of it.

Andy has taken tough stands against illegal immigration and public corruption. Various powers that be are trying to make him pay for his courage and integrity.

[Mike Kelton]

The top FBI prosecutor in AZ pursuing these charges, isn't he Napolitano's former chief of staff, who worked in Bill Clinton's Justice Dept and is a big-time Dem fundraiser?

Doesn't the FBI have a habit of indicting Republicans right before an election, then dropping the charges a few weeks after the Republican loses the election?

Didn't we learn from the Duke Lacrosse Team and Tom DeLay "indictments" that Dem prosecutors will pursue political witch hunts to further their careers?

I am not sure why Thomas is fixated on the county sups, but few people doubt Wilcox and Stapley's ethical problems.

To cheer the demise of Thomas for investigating these characters is odd indeed.

[Melvin]

"The top FBI prosecutor in AZ pursuing these charges, isn't he Napolitano's former chief of staff, who worked in Bill Clinton's Justice Dept and is a big-time Dem fundraiser? "

The FBI investigation reportedly started under Bush. So these ad hominem attacks on the motives of the FBI and the US Attorney are not very valid.

[Doug]

In AzSCam Romley did it right...a grand jury, evidence, secret investigation until he had the evidence, then indictments. With Thomas it's all shoot from the hip if someone opposes him and then let the chips fall where they may.

[Alicia Gegner]

Word around town is that you have been writing these far-fetched blog posts about Thomas being indicted because you want to clear the way for your friend Len Munsil to run for Attorney General.

[todd]

I am interested to see what it will take for the Thomas and Arpaio faithful to have the scales removed from their eyes. Perhaps we will see what is revealed in the 'recovered' emails.

[Winnie]

Doug, nor sure if you're following the whole process but Thomas did all that already and the indictments existed.

Things just got a lot muddier with Leonardo "shooting from the hip" about Thomas' "political advantage." Can anyone explain what that means, and what exactly Thomas did to deserve that accusation? Is the judge or the FBI now going to hire a pollster to ascertain the exact impact on the electorate of Thomas' actions?

You can't have it both ways: either Leonardo is right and Thomas is gaining politically, or Patterson is right and Thomas' political career just took a big hit.

[Jim]

The recent news that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has launched a grand jury investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio and may also be investigating County Attorney Andrew Thomas has been treated by the media like a legitimate law enforcement exercise by unbiased federal officials. While the mainstream media typically ascribe purer motives to the actions of Democrats, even by the low standards by which people now judge the media, they are ignoring a major story. The elephant, er, donkey in the room is Dennis Burke, the liberal Democrat who President Obama recently appointed to be U.S. Attorney.

[Jim]

Dennis Burke gets pass by espresso pundit????!!!! One can only wonder why.

[Bad]

http://sonoranalliance.com/2010/03/08/dennis-burke-obamas-man-in-arizona/

[Bill]

Dennis Burke is the new villian? Are you kidding? People have a short memory -- Burke's mentor, Napolitano, was joined at the hip with Thomas's partner Arpaio. To this day Nappie has yet to say anything negative about Arpaio. Liberal Dems and immigraiton activists have been lambasting Napolitano and Burke for years aobut their lack of opposition to Arpaio and Thomas. IF Burke is actually doing something now, it is because he is finding evidence that can no longer be ignored. Blaming him for Thomas's problems may be good tactics, but they don't align with the facts.

[Melvin]

Making the argument about Dennis Burke is completely dodging the issue. The FBI investigation reportedly started in the fall of 2008 when George W. Bush was still President.

This is from the Channel 5 story in October 2009 that broke the news (it was not the Arizona Republic):

"Sources tell 5 Investigates that the FBI's investigation into the sheriff's activities began more than a year ago, when President George W. Bush was in office."

http://www.kpho.com/news/21470567/detail.html

No one has refuted that the investigation began when Bush was in office, initiated by the FBI and the Bush Justice Department. The investigation had been going on for nearly a year before Dennis Burke was confirmed.

Plus, this is more than just the US Attorney. It is the FBI. The FBI had to have presented some evidence to the Justice Department for the grand jury to have become involved. Are some of you saying the FBI is biased and out to get them for partisan reasons too?

Blaming Burke may make for good political theater and keep Arpaio and Thomas up in the polls but its not going to stop the Feds if they feel they have sufficient evidence to indict.

[Bad]

Thank you Melvin. Bill, those are some pretty strong claims without linking to anything.

[so we see all this as political theater, no matter what happens in the end.]

Look you have got to be kidding to believe that Thomas and Arpio would get a fair shake out of any liberal judge or th 'O's DOJ. This is the same old routine of destroy those who disagree on illegals. Channel '5'? there's an unbiased source for you?! Big News flash!! voters who repeatedly have kept Andy and Arpio in office don't believe that the county commishes are NOT CORRUPT, AND DESERVE TO BE INDICTED,

[Jack]

To get a fair shake, you have to give it. At worst, the investigation of Arpaio and Thomas politically motivated prosecutions is politically motivated. At best, it is a fair and dispassionate review of the failure by these two men in the conduct of their official duties to apply due process and equal protection.

[Rodolfo]

Greg,

You've jumped the shark on this one. Andy Thomas is poised to become a historic Arizona political figure: fighting corruption, tackling illegal immigration, driving down crime rates, and taking more hits than a punch drunk Ali in Manila yet STILL running for statewide office and winning. Come on, how many people hated Reagan while he served and yet Reagan never gave in never wavered and fought on. I'm not saying Thomas is Reagan. What I am saying is that Thomas will be vindicated by the people, not the media and pundits.

[Carl Hay]

Greg,

I have noticed that you appear to have declared war on anyone critical of Don Stapley or Mary Rose Wilcox.

Care to tell us why?

[todd]

Isn't it obvious Carl,
Greg has a grip on reality and understands that Thomas as GOP nominee means a Democrat as state attorney general.

[Carl Hay]

Todd,

Please reread my post as you do not seem to have grasped what I said.

While it is obvious that you hate, and hate and hate Thomas, why no comment on Staplex and Wilcox?

Notice that Grega has been silent about the Maricopa county Board of Supervisors.

[todd]

Carl
I don't know Greg's reason but I can say that due to Thomas' clear abuses and bumbling the waters have been so muddied it is nearly impossible at this point to determine what are genuine charges and what is made up.

[Carl Hay]

Todd,

You are simply consumed with irrational hatred.

If you look at the specifics, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors have acted outrageously (and illegally).

They have launched attacks at the Sherrif because they are for amnesty, open borders and 'guest workes,' while he is enforcing the law (they tried to steal money the legislature specifically designated for the Sherrif's office).