Kari Lake, a Republican Senate candidate in Arizona, is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Lake has asked the court to skip the opportunity to argue her statements weren’t defamatory and move directly to determining damages. Richer criticized Lake for backing down after defending her claims of election fraud for months, calling them lies. The Arizona Supreme Court declined to take Lake’s appeal, and Richer is seeking to prove damages in the case.
Despite declining to defend her statements in court, Lake maintains she was truthful and wants to avoid a lengthy legal process. She questioned whether Richer can prove he was harmed by her statements and demanded he release his medical and psychological records. Lake believes participating in the lawsuit would legitimize a perversion of the legal system and enable bad actors to interfere in upcoming elections, which is why she won’t be taking part. Richer’s lawyers have requested sanctions against Lake for trying to delay discovery in the case.
Richer has vowed to continue demanding records from Lake to prove damages in the defamation case. Lake, a former television news anchor and Trump supporter, narrowly lost the race for Arizona governor and is now running for Senate. She is the second prominent Trump ally to give up the chance to defend against a defamation lawsuit, following Rudy Giuliani’s case in Georgia. Richer’s lawsuit names Lake, her husband, her campaign, and her political fundraising group as defendants and seeks monetary damages, as well as a court order to delete false statements from social media.
Defamation cases brought by public officials like Richer must prove that the statements were made with “actual malice,” meaning they were false or made with reckless disregard for the truth. The lawsuit takes issue with claims made by Lake, including that Richer intentionally caused voting problems and injected bogus ballots. Richer has faced death threats and increased security measures due to the allegations made by Lake. He and his wife have altered their routines, and law enforcement has increased patrols around their home and workplaces in response to the threats.
