Congressman Ruben Gallego (D) is running against Kari Lake for the Arizona Senate seat. In a recent opinion poll
show Mr. Gallego leads Mr. Lake by more than 13 points, and future revelations about the Democrat's dark past could help close the gap and deny him a future in the Senate.
washington free beacon
filed a motion In January, Gallego's 2017 divorce records were unsealed. The divorce record had been hidden from the public ever since he split from his wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who was nine months pregnant.
Arizona Supreme Court
dominated Wednesday — a few days after the lake. I wrote“Arizona has a right to know what he's hiding'' — A Democrat and his ex-wife can no longer keep their divorce a secret, and it's expected to be made public by the end of this week. .
free beacon
noticed At the outset, I said there was something unusual about the relative secrecy surrounding the dissolution of Gallego's marriage.
Although Ruben and Kate Gallego are both public figures, public records and basic information about the circumstances of their divorce are sparse, likely because they were buried by the Gallegos or their allies. In Arizona, like most states, court records, including those related to divorce, are available to the public. However, in the case of Gallegos,
whole document This is incredibly unusual in a state where sealing of information, if any at all, is typically limited to certain classified information.
The Free Beacon further suggested that the record was publicly relevant because Mr. Gallegos held public office and Congressman Gallegos had integrated the divorce into his political background.
There was also a story that
where The couple filed for divorce.
Arizona law requires residents to file for divorce in the county where they currently live, but the Free Beacon reported that the Gallego family was living in Maricopa County when they filed for divorce in Yavapai County. he pointed out.
The Gallego family resisted pressure for transparency and fought to keep their records sealed.
“Rep. Gallego is not entitled to special privileges to keep court records confidential.”
The Yavapai County Superior Court agreed that the records should be unsealed, but gave lawmakers the opportunity to suggest edits.
Superior Court Judge John Knapper later rejected a number of Gallego's proposed redactions on July 3 and ordered a version of the record to be made public.
Gallego, who
said In 2022, a fellow lawmaker filed an appeal saying “praying is rubbish” and claiming he and his ex-wife were trying to protect their minor children. They secured a stay from the state Court of Appeals on July 30. However, on Tuesday the Court of Appeal then ordered The suspension was set to be lifted on Oct. 17, and Gallego asked the Arizona Supreme Court to intervene.
The couple's lawyer suggested on Tuesday.
motion to stay The appeals court ruled that unsealing the records would irreparably harm their rights to privacy and security.
According to The Free Beacon responded to the Tucson Star with a response emphasizing that Gallego did not meet legal requirements to prevent the files from being released.
“That process means the media and voters won't get anything out of these supposedly public records until all votes are counted.”
I wrote Michael Edney, Free Beacon attorney. “The damage to the media and voters is instantaneous and irreversible, starting a week ago when early voting began and will deepen with each passing day through November 5th.”
Edney continued, “Rep. Gallego is not afforded special privileges to maintain confidentiality of court records that are not afforded to other Arizonans. If anything, the press and the public have no right to access court records concerning public officials. “There is a growing interest in the First Amendment,” he added.
The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously rejected the couple's lawsuit late Wednesday.
“The court concludes that the Gallego family's likelihood of success on the merits is not well established,” Judge Clint Borick wrote. “Furthermore, it has not been demonstrated in any degree of specificity that irreparable harm will be caused if the stay is not granted.”
Prior to the unsealing, Congressman Gallego
appeal to voters To submit an early vote.
Early voting began in Arizona on October 9th.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Please register here!
