Arizona's 'fake electors' case has a new judge, defendants say they worry about liberal bias

The new judge in charge of Arizona's “fake electors” case has been asked to assure attorneys for the defendants that there’s no liberal bias at play in court.

The previous judge, Bruce Cohen, recused himself from the case in Maricopa County Superior Court after an email surfaced in which he urged his colleagues to defend Vice President Kamala Harris against conservative attacks on her gender and racial identity.

At a hearing Thursday morning before Judge Sam Myers, defense attorney Dennis Wilenchik — representing one of the elector defendants — told the new judge overseeing the case that he was concerned that both Myers and Cohen were appointed to the bench by a Democratic governor, Janet Napolitano.

“We do have concerns about the selection process,” Wilenchik said.

Myers replied that he'd consider the complaint if Wilenchik submitted it in writing.

Another defense attorney argued Myers should rehear the case from the start, rather than proceed from where Cohen left off, adding that the previous judge did a lot of “thinking out loud,” which could cloud Myers’ view of the case.

Myers said he’ll hold off on watching recordings of Cohen’s hearings for now.

One of the motions Myers will consider is a request to put a gag order on the prosecution — i.e. the Arizona Attorney General’s Office — to prevent communication with the media about the case.

The case centers around 11 Arizona Republicans who submitted a document following the 2020 presidential election asserting that then-President Donald Trump (now president-elect) actually won the state, although he did not.