Secretary of State Kris Kobach affirmed plans Thursday to appeal a federal judge’s order finding him in contempt and another skeptic of Kobach’s role in voting rights litigation responded by submitting an ethics complaint against Kansas’ chief election officer. A U.S. District judge declared Kobach in contempt for refusing to comply with her directives in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging state law requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Judge Julie Robinson also instructed Kobach to pay unspecified attorney fees for declining to abide by her 2016 order blocking enforcement of the citizenship law in Kansas. “The secretary of state’s office will be appealing this decision,” said Kobach spokeswoman Moriah Day. “Secretary Kobach has no additional comment at this time.”
In aftermath of the Wednesday contempt of court ruling, a Massachusetts attorney submitted a complaint against Kobach to the Kansas office responsible for investigating allegations of unethical or improper conduct by lawyers. The attorney, Whitfield Larrabee, said Kobach had a “history of being dishonest and corrupt.”
“While he claims to favor the ‘rule of law,’ he repeatedly violated a federal judge’s orders,” Larrabee said. “He was sanctioned with a $1,000 fine last year for misleading the court. That makes him a hypocrite.”
Full Article: Kobach to appeal contempt ruling; secretary of state hit with fresh ethics complaint.