By Howard Fischer
Mail | X: @azcapmedia

PHOENIX — Newly released records of the divorce of Ruben and Kate Gallego unearthed no major surprises despite Kari Lake, his opponent in the race for U.S. Senate, having publicly accused him for weeks of “hiding something bad.”

The 465 pages made public Thursday by Yavapai County Superior Court cover everything starting with Ruben filing a petition to dissolve the marriage on Dec. 14, 2016, while Kate was pregnant with their child along with his motion to immediately seal the entire court file and record. They cover through the final divorce decree and parenting plan entered by Judge Joseph Goldstein on April 27, 2017.

There are whole sections that remain redacted, even after an order unsealing much of the file by Judge John Napper, who reviewed the request by The Washington Free Beacon for access. These appear to mostly deal with the child Kate was pregnant with when Ruben filed for divorce as well as each of their personal finances and arrangements for things like the boy’s religious training.

But there are some points of interest, including that Ruben, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, asked the court to have Kate pay for his attorney’s fees and costs if the judge determines he is eligible for them.

“That’s very standard,” responded Ruben’s press aide Hannah Goss.

But Kate, in her response to the petition for the divorce, denied Ruben may be entitled to his legal fees. In fact, her attorney asked the judge to order him to contribute to her legal fees and costs.

In a prepared statement by the couple — Goss would not make him available on Thursday — they demanded an apology from Lake “for lying about our family and the circumstances of our divorce.”

That isn’t likely to happen.

"It's bizarre that Ruben Gallego would demand an apology for his appalling behavior,'' said Caroline Wren, an adviser to Lake, in a prepared statement.

And Wren said Lake had nothing to do with the decision by the Beacon to pursue the records.

Wren also said what is in the divorce records is "shocking.''

"Can you imagine being days away from giving birth and your scumbag husband serves you with divorce papers against your will and without your knowledge?'' Wren posted after they were released. "And Ruben is out here trying to lecture people about women's rights!''

But there appears to be no basis for the claim that Kate was blindsided.
In asking on Ruben’s behalf that the record be sealed, his attorney, Bonnie Booden, acknowledged Kate had not yet been served with the papers.

But Booden said the parties “have been engaged in informal discussions about some of the substantive issues in this matter.” And Ruben’s attorney said Kate’s legal counsel has stated she would not oppose the motion to seal the files.

Yet Kate posted on Facebook on Dec. 21, 2016 that “proceedings have begun that will bring my marriage to an end.”

“It is painful when any marriage ends, and it is not something that I ever wanted or expected,” she wrote.

The fact nothing significant has been revealed in the portion of the unsealed documents is not really a surprise.

Arizona is a no-fault divorce state. The only grounds for dissolving a marriage is that is it “irretrievably broken.” Any allegations of cheating or abuse — and there are none stated here — are totally irrelevant.

In fact, in the divorce decree both sides “acknowledge and agree that there was no domestic violence during the marriage or that significant domestic violence did not occur.”

Even Judge Napper wondered what all the fuss was about.

At a June 28 hearing where the Beacon was asking him to unseal the records, the judge said he had reviewed the file multiple times.

“I think everyone’s going to be rather deflated,” the judge said in a video of that hearing obtained by KPNX-TV, the Phoenix NBC affiliate.

“I’m not a politician and maybe this will be very, very important information,” Napper said. “But this looks to me like one of the most garden variety divorce files I have ever seen.”

In their prepared response Thursday, the couple lashed out at Lake for making all this an issue.

“She will stop at nothing to score a cheap political point — even if it means endangering our privacy and the well-being of our young son,” they said.

“The judge in this case has recognized how standard the records are,” they continued. “And it is shameful that Lake, her allies, and those who amplify her cruelty refuse to respect two people who are trying to raise a beautiful boy together.”

All this became an issue in January when the Beacon, an online publication with a record of attacking Democrats, asked that the divorce records be unsealed. Attorney Cory Stuart said that was so the Beacon “may accurately and responsibly report on a public action of the court as it concerns the background of elected representatives, one of whom is actively engaged in a 2024 campaign to serve Arizona as a United States Senator.”

Stuart also noted Goldstein, as the original judge handling the case, did not go through the record and determine what should and should not be off limits to public view. Instead, the trial judge granted a blanket order sealing not only the documents but even redacting the fact that there was such a case on the court docket.

There was only the separate Dec. 21, 2016, Facebook posts by Ruben and Katie about the divorce proceedings that became a public announcement, with each asking for privacy.

Napper, tasked with reviewing Goldstein’s order sealing the whole file, agreed with the Beacon — at least in part, concluding that “the original order sealing the entire file was improper” under court rules.

Rather than release the entire file, as the Beacon had asked, Napper agreed to a series of redactions sought by the couple.

That did not satisfy them, with their attorney, Daniel Arellano, demanding more be removed from public scrutiny.

Napper refused. And the state Court of Appeals ruled he did not exceed his authority.

“To begin with, the state of Arizona presumes court records are available to the public,” wrote appellate Judge Brian Furuya. “The burden is on a party opposing a motion to unseal to demonstrate why the records should not be unsealed.”

In this case, Furuya wrote, that meant the couple had to show “continuing or new overriding circumstances to prohibit access to court documents or any portions thereof.”

“They did not meet that burden,” he wrote.

Late Wednesday the Arizona Supreme Court upheld that order.
The final divorce decree partly unsealed Thursday, shows each said they were self-sufficient and not entitled to spousal maintenance now or in the future.

But there is an entire section on support for the child, identified in legal papers only as M.G., that remains redacted, as does a provision on religious training.

But they did agree they will have joint decision-making and parenting time, as well as jointly decide health, medical, educational and religious training issues.

And they agreed to share equally the cost of college for the boy — currently 7 — “not to exceed the then-current costs of a four-year private, Ivy League college.”

“These funds shall be made available for four years, not necessarily consecutive,” the files read. “The minor child shall make reasonable progress towards an associate or bachelor’s degree or until the time he reaches 25 years of age, whichever sooner occurs.”

And Ruben has to maintain life insurance to secure child support and education expenses, though the amounts and terms were redacted.

Also remaining secret is how the joint property was to be divided and who would assume what debts.

And Kate gets to claim the child as a dependent on her federal and state income tax returns.