LET Exclusive – Is Maricopa County Controlled by George Soros?

George Soros contributed at least $2 million to the campaign of Paul Penzone when he challenged Sheriff Joe Arpaio in 2016. Maricopa County and the Phoenix metroplex are large areas, but this was still an election for a county sheriff.

You have to wonder why the notorious billionaire would invest so much in Penzone’s campaign. But to answer that question, you only need look as far as Penzone’s Chief of Staff and Special Counsel, Stephanie Fleischman Cherny- more on her below.

Former and current members of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department have strongly indicated the reasons for this outside intervention, and laid out a trail of bread crumbs that led to Penzone becoming sheriff, changing nearly every policy in the department to align with the ACLU’s narrative and agenda while placing deputies in the dangerous and conflictual position of declaring their steadfast loyalty to Penzone or face significant repercussions. This includes made-up internal affairs investigations, secret meetings, and direct action to prevent deputies from laterally moving to other departments or police forces.

I’ve had an eye-opening series of discussions with current and former Maricopa County deputies. These deputies have solidly risked speaking out for fear of termination or other form of reprisal. Some points made by deputies that most in law enforcement would say should not be happening:  
 

• Deputies are “invited” to off-campus meetings by members of the internal affairs division for “interviews.” These interviews are conducted away from the office for the reason of being clandestine in nature, and deputies are forced to declare allegiance to Paul Penzone. If they waiver in the slightest, like mentioning they spend off-duty time with members loyal to Joe Arpaio, they are immediately put on the “blue team.” An internal affairs investigation is started, whether justified or not, and that directly prevents a member from transferring to another sheriff’s department, police department, or even Federal organizations like DHS or TSA. It’s common knowledge that no police chief, sheriff, or other manager would consider hiring an officer who is under IA investigation.

 

• Deputies were formerly trained on use of force, Fourth Amendment issues and requirements, and community/police relations through an in-house program. That program has now been aligned under the control of Stephanie Fleischman Cherny, who has direct ties to Soros, the ACLU, and La Raza. Deputies have indicated that previously, they would receive good training on use of force and search and seizure rules, but now, they are forced to endure an assault on their very being – they are accused of being racists, taking advantage of “white privilege,” taking advantage of “police privilege,” and other insulting messages – deputies consistently related that they were demeaned and made to feel like the lowest form of people on the Earth. Instead of receiving good technical training that helps them do their jobs better and protect the citizens of Maricopa County.

 

• The sheriff’s posse, right at 2,000 members strong, is an all-volunteer group of deputies and concerned civilians who support the department during special events, natural disasters, and other times where additional department manning is needed. Many of these members have completed six to eight weeks of additional training (on their own time) in order to hold positions within the posse.  The deputies feel that the posse is an invaluable source of support and assistance for the department, but Penzone is in the process of dismantling the group – his methods and means center around a liberal narrative that the posse is used to round up illegals, and of course, the ACLU and George Soros can’t support that agenda, as false as it may be. Further measures to eliminate the posse are evident in the (again) placing of deputies into IA investigations and making them ineligible to serve on the volunteer force.

Let’s get back to Stephanie Fleischman Cherny, who was instrumental in the support of La Raza’s lawsuit and attack on then-Governor Jan Brewer and then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a case filed with the 9^th Circuit Court. This reeks of conflict, as she was lead counsel on the suit, but then assisted in Penzone’s election and ultimate defeat of Joe Arpaio – when articles about Arpaio were used as a basis for the suit. 

She now enjoys a position on Penzone’s staff as his chief of staff and special counsel. When you put the pieces of the puzzle together or follow the trail of breadcrumbs, it’s easy to see how George Soros directly controls the daily operations of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department, and how Paul Penzone is his puppet.

 

To take this a step further, Penzone tried to run against Arpaio previously as a Republican and lost. He later switched parties and, with the assistance of Cherny and the funding of Soros, defeated Arpaio as a Democrat. 

Ironically, Penzone ran his campaign with the narrative that Arpaio was corrupt and conflicted – and now Penzone is a hundred times more corrupt and conflicted than he ever alleged Arpaio to be.

Editor's note: This article was originally published May 14, 2019. It has been altered only in formatting and re-published October 7, 2023.