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PHOENIX (CN) — An Arizona judge in a controversial election interference case recused himself in light of comments that one defendant says implicitly compare him and others to Adolf Hitler supporters.
Arizona state Senator Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican who faces nine counts of conspiracy, fraud and forgery for signing an official election document falsely assigning Arizona’s 11 electoral votes to Donald Trump in 2020, took issue with an email sent by Maricopa County Judge Bruce Cohen in which he called on his colleagues to stand up to misogyny trumpeted by Donald Trump and his supporters.
“The utter contempt Judge Cohen displayed against President Trump in his Aug. 29 email makes it clear that Senator Hoffman — who is on trial for exercising his First Amendment rights as a supporter of President Trump — cannot receive a fair trial before Judge Cohen,’’ Michael Colombo of Dhillon law group wrote on Hoffman’s behalf in a Nov. 9 motion for recusal. The motion includes a copy of the mass email, which Cohen followed the next day with an apology for “allowing my passion to cloud my judgment.”
Cohen defended his statement in an order filed Tuesday, but agreed to recuse himself to nullify any appearance of bias.
In the original email, Cohen encouraged fellow Maricopa Superior Court judges — particularly white men — to speak out against Trump’s claims, like Vice President Kamala Harris being a “DEI hire” and that she and Hillary Clinton used sex to rise the political ranks.
Cohen invoked an essay by Martin Neimoller, who wrote about those who stayed silent during the rise of Nazis in Germany because it didn’t affect them. He said it was “time for me to state my piece or be complicit in the depravity.”
“We cannot allow our female colleagues to feel as though they stand alone when there are those that may intimate that their ascension was anything other than based on exceptionalism,” he wrote. “This shit must stop. NOW!”
Colombo got a hold of the email through a public records request filed by a Republican state lawmaker unrelated to the case, and challenged Cohen’s stance immediately.
“Even if Judge Cohen can somehow separate his apparent detestation of President Trump from his adjudication of a case that centers around defendants’ political activity in support of President Trump, the appearance of impropriety is a stain on this case that cannot be removed,” he wrote.
Columbo also contends that the attorney general’s office is biased against his client and the 17 other defendants — the subject of multiple pending anti-SLAPP motions. He said Cohen has shown he cannot fairly consider the effects that claims by Attorney General Kris Mayes and chief assistant Daniel Barr comparing Trump to Hitler would have on the fairness of the prosecution.
“Judge Cohen apparently agrees with Mr. Barr, that there are parallels between those who support President Trump and those who supported Adolf Hilter and facilitated the Holocaust,” Colombo wrote. “Judge Cohen cannot fairly assess the gravity of Ms. Mayes and Mr. Barr’s dangerous rhetoric when he engages in similar rhetoric in his discussions with other judges.’’
Richie Taylor, communications director for the attorney general’s office, denied accusations of political motivation, and criticized Hoffman and his counsel for jumping to extremes.
“The tone and rhetoric used in motions recently submitted by defense counsel to attack Arizona’s chief legal officer and now the independent judiciary are beyond the pale,” Taylor wrote in an email to Courthouse News. “The baseless accusations and inflammatory language used by defense counsel undermine the integrity of the legal process and distract from the facts of this case.”
Cohen, who didn’t stand for retention this year and will conclude his term in January, agreed to recuse himself, but doubled down on his message regarding the “significant percentage” of women and racial minorities that make up the county’s judiciary.
“Each of those judicial officers have ascended to their current positions through merit and because of exceptionalism, not based upon favor,” he wrote. “Directed solely to fellow colleagues, this judicial officer expressed in an email support for the exceptionalism of the judicial officers of Maricopa County and was a stand for decency and respect. What was contained in the email is not reflective of bias.
“Out of a commitment to justice, even the appearance of bias cannot be allowed to undermine the fundamental fairness that is extended by the court to all who come before it,” he continued. “It is for that reason alone that this court is recusing itself from all further proceedings in this matter.”
Hoffman was indicted alongside the 10 other Republican electors and six high-profile Republicans including Trump allies Rudy Guiliani and Jenna Ellis in April. Ellis has already taken a plea deal and will cooperate with prosecutors in a trial tentatively set for early 2026.
The order automatically vacates all upcoming hearings, and the case will be put on ice until it’s assigned to a new judge.
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