Howard Fischer PHOENIX — Three current and former GOP lawmakers are hoping to avoid paying the legal fees of a Democrat whom a judge said was unfairly sued by them for asking the FBI and Justice to investigate their actions around the Jan. 6 riot.
People are also reading… The trio's attorney, Kelley Jancaitis, said Finchem, Kern and Gosar had a legal basis to believe Fernandez knew there was no factual basis for the federal investigation of their Jan. 6 activities. She said that entitled them to sue Fernandez for slander. At issue is a Jan. 12, 2021 letter signed by Fernandez and 41 other Democratic state lawmakers to the federal agencies asking that they investigate the trio, all of whom were in Washington, D.C. for the Jan. 6 event.
The trio sued only Fernandez, who has since resigned to take a post in the Biden administration, claiming she had a particular animus against them. "But when speech involves a matter of public concern, the balance changes significantly,'' he wrote."The storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 is a matter of great public concern.''
In the new filing, Finchem, Kern and Gosar called the judge's ruling and sanctions"an abuse of discretion.''
I'm amused 'stifle creative advocacy' is Republican code for frivolous lawsuit.