Two-time election loser Kari Lake and the official who sued her for falsely claiming he sabotaged the results of her 2022 race have reached a confidential settlement, The Washington Post reported Sunday. A Maricopa County Superior Court docket confirmed the agreement.
Lake, a Republican, recently lost a U.S. Senate election to Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), but it was her 2022 defeat for governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs that drew her into a legal fight.
Lake echoed Donald Trump’s lies about election fraud stemming from his 2020 loss and personalized them in her own race two years later. She accused then-Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, of helping to steal victory from her. Richer struck back at her falsehoods with a defamation lawsuit in which he said that her claims not only were untrue but had prompted threats against him and his family.
Lake declined to contest the suit in March, meaning she essentially fast forwarded to a judgment on how much she owed him.
Democracy In The Balance
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During her failed campaign against Gallego, she repeatedly dodged questions about her election denialism, resulting in viral moments that certainly didn’t help her cause.