Judge With Links To Mike Huckabee Curiously Orders Police To Destroy Josh Duggar Report

Judge Stacey Zimmerman ordered police to expunge Josh Duggar’s 2006 Offense Report on Thursday. The report which details Duggar’s alleged forcible fondling of five girls in 2002 and 2003, was to be destroyed, according to Springdale, Arkansas Police Spokesman Scott Lewis. On Friday, Lewis stated:

The judge ordered us yesterday to expunge that record. As far as the Springdale Police Department is concerned this report doesn’t exist.

Lewis also noted that ordinarily such records are kept indefinitely. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette tried to contact Judge Zimmerman on Thursday, to find out why she made the decision to destroy Duggar’s Offense Record, but she did not return their request for comment.

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Judge Zimmerman has some connections to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, as he appointed her to two positions during the 1990s. Governor Huckabee appointed her to the Criminal Detention Facility Review Committee, where she served from 1995 to 1998. He also appointed her to serve on the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice. She served in that capacity from 1999 to 2005.

Since the revelations about Josh Duggar molesting girls was made public, Mike Huckabee has been one of Josh Duggar’s most vocal apologists. Although Governor Huckabee no longer holds political office in Arkansas, a judge he appointed to two different posts during his tenure, has taken the unusual step of asking police to expunge the reports surrounding Josh Duggar’s alleged sex crimes.

Although the judge ordered the police report destroyed, In Touch magazine, and a few other sites obtained the Offense Report under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents were obtained prior to the record being expunged.  The report is heavily redacted to conceal the names of the victims, but it can be viewed on the In Touch website.

Judge Stacey Zimmerman’s motive for expunging Josh Duggar’s Offense Record is not clear. However, if her decision was motivated by a desire to make the story go away, it may have been a poor choice. With her past ties to Governor Huckabee proudly touted on her 2014 campaign web page, her decision to order police to destroy Josh Duggar’s Offense Record is bound to arouse suspicions surrounding her motives.

Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.