Arizona State Senators Wendy Rogers and Ken Bennett, two self-described MAGA Republicans who peddled Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, were thrown under the bus by a GOP “voter fraud” witness who revealed under oath that the two lawmakers have taken bribes from drug cartels, The Arizona Republic reports.
The revelation came after Arizona Republicans called Jacqueline Breger to push baseless claims of mass voter fraud, according to the news outlet.
Breger, who last week accused multiple state officials of taking bribes in exchange for manipulating statewide elections, was actually relaying the theories of a man named John Thaler, a one-time lawyer from Scottsdale whose law license has been suspended.
Thaler confirmed to The Arizona Republic that Rogers and Bennett both possessed “documents that meet the characteristics of those documents used in the money laundering and bribery schemes.”
Thaler offered no concrete proof of his claims when asked by the newspaper.
In response to the claims, Rogers released a statement expressing regret about the bribery claims being aired in a public hearing.
“Late Sunday night Rogers… issued a press release stating that the claims made by Breger should have been turned over to law enforcement ‘and not brought before the Legislature,'” the report states. “She added that ‘none of the people named’ in the presentation are facing charges and that even if allegations are proven factual, the Legislature isn’t the venue to try the case.”
Senators Bennett and Rogers, are among former President Donald Trump’s biggest loyalists in the state and have been at the forefront of pushing false claims about the 2020 election being “stolen” from him.