The state Bar of Arizona is investigating complaints against two attorneys representing Republican Kari Lake in her ongoing challenge of her 2022 election loss to Katie Hobbs.
The state bar does not disclose specific details of ongoing complaints, but spokeswoman Taylor Tasler confirmed it is investigating two open charges against Bryan Blehm, a Scottsdale-based divorce attorney who also represented Cyber Ninjas during the state Senate’s flawed review of the 2020 election.
One charge deals with his conduct in Lake’s case and the other has to do with social media posts Blehm made about the Arizona Supreme Court. The bar is also investigating two open charges against Kurt Olsen, Blehm’s co-counsel on Lake’s election challenge.
In a response to the bar first reported by the Arizona Mirror, Blehm referenced a post alleging a Supreme Court task force was part of a CIA-induced effort to stifle cases exposing election fraud.
The post referred to a decision by Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel to form a Task Force on Countering Disinformation. The idea was to provide responses to false claims that otherwise would go unanswered, undermining public confidence in the courts.
"Whether foreign or domestic, Arizona’s courts must be prepared to address attempts to discredit the justice system through the use of disinformation," Brutinel said in forming the task force.
Blehm, in his post, had a different explanation.
"The answer is simple, they were conspiring to do what they had been doing to other countries for decades, to overthrow the government of the United States of America and once they executed their plan, which they did, they needed to control the media and judicial narrative to convince the public that all was well," he wrote.
In his response to the bar, Blehm denied the bar’s allegation that he accused the court of engaging in a conspiracy.
"My tweet was intended to say that the Arizona judiciary was hoodwinked by the national security apparatus specifically to limit attorney speech and willingness to bring valid claims on behalf of their clients," he wrote.
He also denied allegations he engaged in conduct "prejudicial to the administration of justice," saying his post was to improve the administration of justice "to ensure that contemporary McCarthyism does not take a solid foothold." Blehm said debate can improve the justice system.
Neither Blehm nor Olsen returned calls and messages seeking comment.
Earlier this year, the Arizona Supreme Court slapped the two attorneys with a $2,000 sanction after they claimed that the record "indisputably" reflects that there were at least 35,563 early ballots injected into the system. Brutinel said that was a lie.
