Kari Lake seeks to forfeit her defense in defamation case [View all]

Source: The Hill

03/26/24 9:00 PM ET


Attorneys for Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake moved to forfeit a defamation case against her on Tuesday, choosing not to contest the allegations that she defamed a state election worker after the 2022 election. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) sued Lake last year in his personal capacity, claiming Lake defamed him after she refused to concede her 2022 Arizona gubernatorial defeat and alleged election fraud.

The lawsuit claims that Lake consistently and systemically lied about Richer’s actions as recorder, causing him to receive harassment and numerous threats to his life. Richer added that Lake claimed without evidence that he stuffed ballot boxes with 300,000 invalid votes and used his role as recorder to make the ballot unclear for voters.

“For the last seven months, I have been subjected to constant harassment, intimidation, and threats to my and my family’s lives because the defendants in this case were spreading falsehoods about me, my work, and our elections,” Richer said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed last year.

The court filing Tuesday does not contest Richer’s claims, and requests an accelerated hearing to determine damages. Richer held up the filing as an admission of guilt.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4558409-kari-lake-seeks-to-forfeit-her-defense-in-defamation-case/