Ousted legislator wants Senate ethics to investigate his claim
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
Ousted state Rep. Don Shooter wants the Senate Ethics Committee to determine whether former House Speaker J.D. Mesnard acted unethically in refusing to release parts of an investigative report that resulted in his expulsion.
In a letter to Sen. Sine Kerr, who chairs the panel, Shooter charges that Mesnard is guilty of “intentionally orchestrating a cover-up by hiding from members and the public, critical, relevant testimony from three credible witnesses.”
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Those witnesses, Shooter said, would provide a full picture of the situation that resulted in the 56-3 vote in February 2018 to remove him from the House after his colleagues concluded he was guilty of multiple incidents of sexual harassment.
Mesnard, a Chandler Republican, declined to comment on the complaint.
Kerr told Capitol Media Services that Shooter’s complaint is not official because he failed to notarize it as required by Senate rules.
