Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Tim Ryan recused himself from a lawsuit challenging the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM) following a request by the litigants, Arizona Senate Majority Leader Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria). The request stems from the fact that Ryan’s older brother – a high-profile and virulent progressive activist attorney – repeatedly denigrated calls for increased election integrity measures in the state, including cases his jurist brother was presiding over.
The Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus issued an announcement praising the recusal. “His brother, Tom Ryan, is a liberal attorney who plagues social media with his contempt for the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature with an incessant number of juvenile posts,” the statement said. “There is no way anyone who has witnessed the antics of Judge Ryan’s brother, which included case-specific criticisms and commentary, can credibly believe that Judge Ryan could give the Legislature a fair trial.”
The older Ryan, an election attorney involved himself in many election lawsuits, mocked the press release, which was issued by the spokesperson for the Arizona Senate Republicans, Kim Quintero. “I see that Ms. Quintero pulled out her Roget’s Thesaurus from high school today,” he said.
In a lengthy thread on X, the older Ryan, to his 6,293 followers on X, blasted the lawsuit. “No matter how much whipped cream you put on a cowpie, it’s never going to be delectable,” he said. He asked where is the proof that the Senate and House “authorized these two Yahoos to sue on their behalf” and called the complaint “frivolous.” He predicted the case is so flawed it would be thrown out. He called the litigation “performance litigation to destroy and undermine Arizona citizens’ confidence in Arizona elections.”
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