Lawyers for Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake moved Tuesday to dismiss the defamation lawsuit against her, choosing not to contest allegations that she defamed a state election official after the 2022 election.
Maricopa County Recorder Steven Richer (R) last year accused Lake of defaming him in his personal capacity by refusing to acknowledge his defeat in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election and allegations of election fraud. sued.
The complaint alleges that Lake consistently and systematically lied about Richer’s actions as a recorder, resulting in harassment and numerous threats against his life. Richer added that Lake has claimed without evidence that he used his role as recorder to stuff ballot boxes with 300,000 invalid votes and make it unclear to voters.
“For the past seven months, I have been subjected to constant harassment, intimidation, and threats against my life and the life of my family as the defendants in this case spread falsehoods about me, my work, and the election. ,” Richer said in a statement. When I filed a lawsuit last year.
Tuesday’s court filing does not dispute Mr. Richer’s claims and requests an early hearing to determine the amount of damages.
Mr. Richer’s submission was deferred as he admitted guilt.
“I won’t protect/I can’t protect,” he wrote. Post to X, formerly Twitter. “I get my due. But the millions of people she lied to didn’t.”
“Not the thousands of people who donated ‘to keep the fight going’. Not the people who believed so strongly in Cali’s lies that they went to prison,” he continued. “Those people will not get what they deserve.”
But Lake has refused to accept liability, dismissing the allegations as a “political witch hunt” and a refusal to participate in what he calls a “frivolous” lawsuit.
“Washington, DC operates on intimidation and bribery. They can’t intimidate or bribe me, so they resorted to filing punitive lawsuits to stop me and bleed me out. ” she said. video message. “They’re threatening to take everything from me. What they don’t realize is that even if they leave me and my husband and kids homeless and penniless, that won’t stop us. is.”
“Joining this lawsuit will only legitimize this perversion of our legal system and allow bad actors to interfere in our next election,” she continued. “So I won’t participate.”
Lake is challenging Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) for the seat held by retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.). Early polls show Mr. Gallego with a slight lead over Mr. Lake, but the race is seen as a key battleground for both parties in the race for control of the Senate.
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