Earlier this week, Arizona GOP election official Stephen Richer filed a defamation lawsuit against Kari Lake (R), the losing candidate in last year’s gubernatorial election
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Earlier this week, a GOP election official in Arizona filed a defamation lawsuit against Kari Lake (R), the losing candidate in last year’s gubernatorial election. And, strangely, she doesn’t seem thrilled about it.
Since her loss, Lake has been telling everybody who wants to listen (and many people who don’t) that the election was stolen from her, including by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.
In fact, undeterred by one court after another ruling against her, she is probably the most avowed election denier not named Donald Trump. And why not? It seems as though this has been quite lucrative for her.
In Lake’s pursuit to show that the election was stolen, Richer has been one of her favorite targets. Predictably, some of her followers took it upon themselves to do something about it and harassed the GOP election official and his family.
Still, Richer said he held off on filing the defamation lawsuit because he thought that, at some point, things would blow over and that Lake would give up her quixotic pursuit.
“I’d hoped the defamation would stop after the election. I waited. I’d hoped it would stop after the first election trial. I waited. I’d hoped it would stop after the appeal. I waited. I’d hoped it would stop after the second trial. I waited. I’d hoped it would stop after she got a new job. I waited,” Richer wrote in a tweet. “But then I realized I AM the job. Defaming me is her path to campaign donations, speaking opportunities, and national trips.”
I'm suing Kari Lake.
I'd hoped the defamation would stop after the election. I waited.
I'd hoped it would stop after the first election trial. I waited.
I'd hoped it would stop after the appeal. I waited.
I'd hoped it would stop after the second trial. I waited.
I'd…
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) June 22, 2023
And while this strategy may have worked out for Lake, who is believed to be on the shortlist of potential running mates for Trump if he wins the Republican nomination, things haven’t gone as well for Richer and his family.
“As a result of Defendants’ knowing and malicious falsehoods, Richer and his family have been the targets of threats of violence, and even death, and have had their lives turned upside down,” his lawsuit states.
Now, you’d think that Lake would be happy about being sued.
After all, the discovery process should be a great opportunity for her to back up all of her claims.
However, when she took to social media to react to the lawsuit, Lake did not sound excited.
“I’m exposing the massive corruption in our elections and this jackass is suing me,” she tweeted. “He wants to silence US. Trump won in a landslide & so did I. Everyone knows it.”
I’m exposing the massive corruption in our elections and this jackass is suing me.
He wants to silence US.
Trump won in a landslide & so did I.
Everyone knows it.Corrupt elections have saddled us with disasters like Biden and hobbs.
The majority of Americans KNOW our… pic.twitter.com/MLwkm89MRh
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) June 23, 2023
Well, great then!
If everybody knows it, then it should be pretty easy to prove her claims in court.
Of course, she may also be asked to provide some documents of her own as Richer’s lawyers try to show that she is not only spreading lies about him but also does so knowingly and maliciously, which is the standard for defamation.
Earlier this year, a similar lawsuit didn’t work out so well for another group of election deniers — the fine people at Fox “News.” They ended up settling with Dominion Voting Systems to the tune of $787 million for spreading lies about the company even though the network’s executives knew these claims were false.
But things will surely work out better for Lake.
