Sheriff Joe Arpaio is scheduled to be interviewed in a lawsuit that alleges his office pursued animal cruelty charges in 2014 against Sen. Jeff Flake's son to politically damage the senator.
Arpaio is scheduled for a deposition Thursday in Austin Flake's lawsuit over the investigation into the heat-exhaustion deaths of 21 dogs at a kennel operated by his in-laws.
The younger Flake and his wife were in charge of the dogs while the in-laws were out of town.
The in-laws initially said the animals died after a dog chewed through an air-conditioning wire.
An expert later determined the AC unit failed because it wasn't properly maintained.
Charges against the young couple were dropped.
The in-laws have pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.
Arpaio's office denied that the investigation was politically motivated.
