Arizona House expels GOP lawmaker over unproven claims

By JONATHAN J. COOPER
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House of Representatives has expelled a Republican lawmaker who organized a presentation by someone who made unsubstantiated accusations that a wide range of public officials took bribes from a Mexican drug cartel. Rep. Liz Harris was kicked out of the Legislature in a bipartisan vote Wednesday. That came a day after the House Ethics Committee determined she engaged in “disorderly behavior” in violation of the chamber’s rules. The committee’s report said she knew a presenter she invited to a February hearing would make undocumented accusations of criminal behavior and that Harris took steps to hide it from House leaders ahead of time. Harris said she was expelled for refusing to “toe the line.”