Kari Lake appears poised to be the next Rudy Giuliani as election worker defamation lawsuit moves forward
Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Richer’s lawsuit asks the court to compel Lake, her campaign, and a campaign-related fund to scrub all false and defamatory statements about him from their websites and social media pages.The suit specifically points to two false claims the MAGA queen continues to make despite having zero evidence to support them: 1.
That Richer “sabotaged” electronic ballot printers, and 2. That Richer inserted 300,000 fake ballots into the Maricopa County ballot count.Speaking to reporters this week, Richer said, “She’s allowed to insult me, criticize my abilities, criticize my hair.
She is not allowed to say that I did something that was criminally unlawful, something that has been adjudicated by multiple courts as absolutely, positively not happening.”In court, Lake’s lawyer, Jennifer Wright, argued that her client’s remarks were “based on provable facts” and that Richer “cannot prove actual malice” on Lake’s part.(Fact check: What Lake has claimed is not, in fact, based on “proveable facts.” And that fact that she’s still attacking him over a year later sure seems like malice to us.)“Largely, the facts are true,” Wright continued, adding that the whole 2022 election in Arizona was a “debacle.”(Fact check: The facts are not true.
Also, the 2022 election in Arizona was not a debacle. It was run properly and Lake lost fair and square to Democrat Katie Hobbs by 17,000 votes.)In a 13-page decision released yesterday, Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman sided with Richer, ruling that Lake’s repeated remarks were, indeed, defamatory and could be proved as false before a jury, based on evidence shown to the court.“Defendant Lake’s statements regarding improper 19-inch ballots and/or the existence of 300,000 fraudulent ballots may be discerned by a factfinder as either true or false when considered in the light of any available evidence..
