There’s trouble in paradise for Kari Lake.
Arizona Governor-elect Katie Hobbs (D) and Maricopa County have asked a judge to sanction Lake and her attorneys after her long-shot challenge to last month’s gubernatorial loss.
Lake, a former TV news anchor and Trump supporter, is facing heightened pressure after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled against her election challenge on Saturday.
According to The Hill, Maricopa County argued that the Republican’s lawsuit constituted harassment, was groundless and not made in good faith.
The sanctions motion was joined by Hobbs in both her capacities as governor-elect and secretary of state.
“Courts are established by Arizona’s Constitution and statutes to resolve actual disputes between parties,” the county’s attorneys wrote to the judge. “They do not exist so that candidates for political office can attempt to make political statements and fundraise. And they should not be used to harass political opponents and sow completely unfounded doubts about the integrity of elections. All of those things happened in this matter.”
Maricopa County and Hobbs argued Lake and her team should have known that they had no evidence to successfully mount an election challenge. They also noted the Republican’s refusal to commit to accepting the election results prior to the midterms citing a since-deleted tweet Lake issued on Monday accusing the judge of integrity violations.
Hobbs and Maricopa are seeking “attorney’s fees and expenses, requesting about $37,000 paid as a sanction.”
Lake has pledged to appeal the judge’s ruling and said the sanctions motion “has no basis in law or fact” in its response, arguing the judge’s decision permitting a trial should merit the denial of the motion.
“The issues raised before this Court were of significant concern to millions of Arizona voters as to the causes of chaos that arose on Election Day—and the administration of elections in Maricopa County generally—and Plaintiff’s claims deserved to be brought and heard,” Lake’s campaign wrote to the judge.
The judge had dismissed eight of 10 counts alleged in Lake’s lawsuit prior to trial, ruling they did not constitute proper grounds for an election contest.
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