PHOENIX – A judge refused to preside on Tuesday The Case of the Fake Voters in Arizona after an email surfaced in which he told fellow justices to rule against attacks on Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

In the Aug. 29 email, Maricopa County Judge Bruce Cohen lamented not speaking up when Harris was called a “DEI hire,” believes white men must speak out against the unfair treatment of women, and raised a historical lesson from the Holocaust about the need to speak up when people are under attack. Cohen did not say who made the comment about Harris.

“We cannot allow our colleagues who identify as a ‘person of color’ to stand alone when there are those (who) can claim that their ascension was a ‘rent of equity’ rather than solely based on exceptionalism” , the judge told his colleagues. in the email.

Cohen later wrote another email in which he told his fellow judges that he had let his passion cloud his judgment and apologized to anyone affected by his lack of judgment in using an e-mail forum. mail for judges that was not suitable for unsolicited comments.

Attorneys for Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman, who faces nine felony charges in the case, asked the judge to remove him, arguing that Cohen “perhaps a deep-seated personal political bias that overrode his professional judgment” and that their client had lost his trust in judgment. impartiality.

Hoffman is one of 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely stating that then-President Donald Trump won Arizona in the 2020 election. They include the former state party chairman, a U.S. Senate candidate from 2022 and two sitting state lawmakers. Two former Trump aides and five Trump-related lawyers, incl Rudy Giulianiwere also defendants in the case. All 18 people were charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy.

“Given the statements the judge made, I think it’s appropriate to plead guilty,” Arizona attorney Mark L. Williams, who represents Giuliani, said after Cohen’s ruling. “The way I see it, the case against Mr. Giuliani and the other defendants is falling apart, and I think the attorney general should sort out the case and dismiss it.”

A spokesman for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to comment on the judge’s recusal.

In a court filing, Cohen said the original email was a stand for decency and did not reflect a personal bias, but acknowledged that others may see it differently than he intended.

Cohen, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2005, was set to retire in January.

Most of the defendants asked Cohen to drop the charges under an Arizona law that prohibits the use of frivolous legal actions in an attempt to silence critics. The law had long offered protections in civil cases, but was amended in 2022 by the Republican-led Legislature to cover people facing the most criminal charges.

Cohen recused himself before deciding whether to dismiss the case, which will be assigned to another judge.

The defendants alleged that Mayes tried to use the charges to silence them for their constitutionally protected speech about the 2020 election and actions taken in response to the outcome of the race. They say Mayes campaigned for the fraudulent voter investigation and showed a bias against Trump and his supporters.

Prosecutors said the defendants had no evidence to support their claim of retaliation and that they crossed the line from protected speech to fraud. Mayes’ office also said the grand jury that brought the indictment wanted to consider it accusing Trumpbut prosecutors urged them not to do so.

Two defendants have already settled their cases.

Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with Giuliani, signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors that led to his charges being dismissed. Republican activist Loraine Pellegrino also became one the first person convicted in the Arizona case when she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to probation.

The other defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Trump has not been charged in Arizona, but the indictment names him as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Michigan prosecutors, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin also filed criminal charges related to the fraudulent voter scheme.

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Associated Press writer Anita Snow contributed to this report.