Phoenix, Arizona – Kari Lake, a contender for a Senate position in Arizona and a vocal supporter of election denial, has chosen not to challenge her liability in a defamation lawsuit filed against her by Maricopa County’s Republican election official. Stephen Richer, who oversaw the county’s 2022 election, accused Lake of falsely claiming that he was responsible for her loss in the race for governor, which was won by Democrat Katie Hobbs.
Lake’s legal team filed a default judgment motion indicating that she does not dispute her culpability but plans to dispute the damages being sought by Richer. She has also requested that Richer provide relevant medical and psychiatric records to support his claims of negative impacts on his health, as mentioned in the lawsuit. Additionally, Lake has called for a jury for the default judgment hearing.
Throughout her campaign, Lake, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, has perpetuated the false claim that she actually won the 2022 gubernatorial race. In doing so, she targeted Richer with accusations that have led to threats of violence and disruption in his family’s life, as stated in the lawsuit against her.
The lawsuit pointed to various instances where Lake made baseless claims against Richer, including alleging that he misprinted ballots to jam tabulators and sabotaged Election Day operations. Although dozens of vote tabulation machines malfunctioned during Arizona’s 2022 election due to changes in ballot paper, conspiracy theories circulated by some conservatives falsely blamed Richer for the issues.
In response to the lawsuit, Lake criticized the legal action as an attempt to manipulate the legal system and interfere with the forthcoming election. Richer countered her remarks by suggesting that her decision not to contest the lawsuit indicates a lack of evidence to support her claims and a waiver of her first amendment defenses.
Notably, former Trump ally Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay $148 million in a defamation case last year over false claims he made about election workers in Georgia. Like Lake, Giuliani also chose not to contest the claim. Attorneys for both Lake and Richer have not commented on the latest developments in the lawsuit.