Arizona Supreme Court rejects bid by Senate candidate Gallego to keep divorce records sealed

The Arizona Supreme Court  rejected a last minute bid by Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego and his ex-wife and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to keep their 2016 divorce records sealed. 

The decision Wednesday is a victory for the Washington Free Beacon, which sued for the records previously sealed by the Yavapai County Superior Court citing public interest.

“They reached the right decision,” Michael Edney, a lawyer for the Free Beacon, said. “Frankly, Congressman Gallego’s position that all this should be kept away from the public was never legally supported, and was advocating for a special privilege for politicians that the rest of us don’t have.”

The files may provide ammunition for Gallego’s lagging Republican challenger Kari Lake who has used the divorce to paint her opponent as a lier for concealing the details of his divorce and to call attention to the fact that Gallego and his ex-wife split while she was pregnant with their son. 

Ruben Gallego previously lambasted Lake and alleged she had a role in trying to unseal the records, which her campaign denies. 

“The judge who actually is overseeing this has said this is one of the most boring, boring divorce procedures. The reason Kate and I have tried to keep as much confidential is not for us; it’s for our son, Michael,” Gallego told KTAR (92.3 FM) during an interview.

He cites Lake’s history of going after families of political opponents, including the family of late Senator John McCain and Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer as a reason he wants to protect his son. 

“This is who we are trying to protect our son from because she will do anything, she will say anything and hurt anybody just to get power,” he told the station.

Lake’s campaign says the fight over the divorce records begs the question: “What is he hiding?”