Stephanie Grisham, who later became White House press secretary under Donald Trump, was arrested for driving under the influence twice in Arizona: once in Gilbert in January 2013 and again in Phoenix in December 2015. The Stephanie Grisham DUI arrests resurfaced publicly in the summer of 2019, days after she was named press secretary, when mugshots and court records from both cases circulated widely and raised questions about how senior White House staff were vetted.1Snopes. Stephanie Grisham DUI Arrests
The 2013 Gilbert Arrest
On the night of January 9, 2013, around 11:30 p.m., a Gilbert police officer stopped Grisham near Gilbert Road and Elliot Road for driving 35 mph in a 25 mph zone. The officer reported bloodshot, watery eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath. Running her license, he also found it had been suspended after she allegedly failed to appear on a traffic citation issued in Mesa in August 2012. Grisham told the officer she had not known about either the citation or the suspension.1Snopes. Stephanie Grisham DUI Arrests
She repeatedly denied drinking. When the officer told her he could smell alcohol, she reportedly blew directly in his face to show there was nothing to detect. A preliminary breath test at the scene came back at .099 percent. A follow-up forensic blood draw measured .105 percent, above Arizona’s .08 percent legal limit.1Snopes. Stephanie Grisham DUI Arrests
The case moved through Gilbert Municipal Court. In August 2014, Grisham accepted a plea agreement: she pleaded guilty to reckless driving, and the DUI and driving-with-a-suspended-license charges were dropped. The court sentenced her to one night in jail and two years of probation and ordered her to pay $943 in fines. According to the Arizona Republic, the case came back before the court twice afterward, once for failing to pay her fines and once for failing to complete a Mothers Against Drunk Driving session.2Arizona Republic. Stephanie Grisham’s Path to White House Press Secretary
The 2015 Phoenix Arrest
On December 5, 2015, Phoenix police pulled Grisham over again, this time for driving without her headlights on. She was charged with a lighted lamps violation, DUI, and DUI with a BAC over .08 percent.1Snopes. Stephanie Grisham DUI Arrests By then she was working as an aide on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.3Business Insider. Trump Press Secretary Arrested for DUI Amid Work for 2016 Campaign
The second case went to Scottsdale Municipal Court and did not move smoothly. Grisham missed a court date on January 19, 2016, which triggered a one-month suspension of her driver’s license, and she missed another court date in November 2016. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI in July 2016; the lighted lamps charge and the second DUI count were dismissed. The court ordered her to pay nearly $1,600 in fines and fees and to complete a treatment program she later called a “safety class.” She paid off the balance on January 9, 2017.2Arizona Republic. Stephanie Grisham’s Path to White House Press Secretary
Why One Case Became Reckless Driving and the Other Stayed a DUI
Arizona law generally bars prosecutors from dismissing all DUI charges unless there is an insufficient factual or legal basis to pursue them. The rule is meant to prevent routine plea-downs to non-alcohol offenses like reckless driving.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona DUI Laws and DUI Courts The 2013 Gilbert case ended in a reckless driving conviction after the DUI count was dropped; the 2015 Phoenix case ended in a DUI conviction. The specific reasons the two prosecutors reached different outcomes were not publicly disclosed.
How the Arrests Became News in 2019
Grisham was named White House press secretary in late June 2019. Within weeks, both arrests were being reported in detail. The Gilbert Police Department released her 2013 booking photo to reporters, and mugshots from both cases spread on social media. The timing — a new press secretary with two prior DUI arrests, one of them during her work for the campaign that put her in the White House — drew scrutiny of the administration’s vetting process.1Snopes. Stephanie Grisham DUI Arrests A New York Times account described her career as a “turbulent ascent” that included the arrests.5Yahoo News. Trump’s Press Secretary Arrested for DUI
The arrests did not derail her appointment. Grisham served as press secretary from July 2019 to April 2020 before returning to the East Wing as Melania Trump’s chief of staff, a role she held until resigning on January 6, 2021.6ABC News. Grisham Leaving as White House Press Secretary Her later memoir, her public break with Trump, and her 2024 endorsement of Kamala Harris are a separate chapter from the DUI record and are not addressed here.
Quick Reference: The Two Cases Side by Side
- Date and place of stop: January 9, 2013, Gilbert, Arizona (speeding, 35 in a 25 zone) / December 5, 2015, Phoenix, Arizona (no headlights).
- BAC on record: .099 preliminary and .105 confirmed in 2013 / not specified in the file for 2015, though she was charged with DUI with a BAC over .08 percent.
- Original charges: DUI and driving on a suspended license in 2013 / lighted lamps violation, DUI, and DUI with BAC over .08 in 2015.
- Court: Gilbert Municipal Court / Scottsdale Municipal Court.
- Plea: guilty to reckless driving in August 2014 (DUI dropped) / guilty to misdemeanor DUI in July 2016 (other counts dismissed).
- Sentence: one night in jail, two years of probation, $943 in fines, plus a required MADD session / nearly $1,600 in fines and fees, plus a treatment program.
- Compliance issues: returned to court for unpaid fines and a missed MADD session / missed two court dates, triggering a one-month license suspension.