MESA, Ariz. — Arizona State Rep. Justin Heap of Mesa told 12News last month he met with a lobbyist at the center of a story that gained news coverage in January. But the lobbyist involved said Heap’s claim is not true. Public records also do not support Heap’s statement.
On Wednesday, Heap did not explain to 12News the reason for the discrepancy. Instead, Heap criticized 12News for covering the story at all.
“Why do you keep running this ridiculous nonsense story from day one that nobody cares about but you?” Heap said.
The story, first reported by the Washington Post in January, revealed when a representative of the lobbyist firm Consilium Consulting asked to meet with Heap to discuss deregulation issues in Arizona, Heap responded by saying he needed to prioritize his meetings and wanted to know if the lobbyist or its clients donated to his campaign fund. If not, Heap wanted to know why.
The email suggested the freshman legislator was using political donations to prioritize access to his office.
When asked by 12News in February about the story, Heap said there was no “quid pro quo” and that he received fewer donations than any legislator. Heap also suggested he met with the lobbyist, stating, “Well, I scheduled the meeting with them anyway.”
Faced with criticism on social media, Heap also claimed he was a victim of deceitful journalism, writing, “I’ll be happy to release the full email chain the reporter snipped this from while carefully leaving out the fact that I scheduled the meeting...”
Once 12News obtained the full email chain from the Senate through a public records request, it showed no evidence Heap met with the lobbyist. It also showed no evidence Heap scheduled a meeting.
Kirk Adams, president of Consilium Consulting, told 12News Heap did not meet with them. A spokesperson for the firm added that Heap “ghosted” the organization.
According to the email chain, the correspondence between Heap and Consilium Consulting amounted to five emails. The final email was sent on Jan. 11 from Consilium Consulting. It was in response to Heap’s questions about campaign donations. The email cites state statute.
“Now that the legislative session has formally begun, A.R.S. 41-1234.01(A) applies. Any contribution made to your campaign are a matter of public record (or will soon be after the upcoming campaign finance deadline), but I cannot say much beyond this due to that aforementioned statute. I look forward to working with you on de-reg bills over the course of the coming legislative session and I hope that we can connect on these sometime soon,” the email states.
There is no response from Heap.
Heap told 12News Wednesday the entire issue does not present an ethical dilemma.
“Our media is a joke. They’re not interested in telling the truth. They’re interested in pushing the same narrative over and over. They’re smear merchants and propagandists,” Heap said.
A spokesperson for House Republicans said he is not aware of anyone filing an ethics complaint against Heap for the email correspondence.
Former Republican legislator Joel John, who lost his primary election last August, said he believes voters should take notice of Heap’s actions.
“Mean what you say, say what you mean. Be honest. And if he’s (Heap) saying he met with them and he didn’t, that’s problematic. Now you’re seeing patterns of behavior that are very questionable,” John said.
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