Arizona Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs requested a court to sanction Kari Lake, the defeated Republican gubernatorial hopeful.
A judge in Arizona rejected Saturday’s suit by Lake challenging the certification and counting of November’s electoral contest. The lawsuit was filed to declare Lake the winner, despite the lack of evidence that voter fraud occurred.
Hobbs was a part of a Maricopa County motion for sanctions against Lake and her lawyers. Thomas P. Liddy, the deputy attorney for the county, wrote that Lake had filed an “unfounded” lawsuit to stop a “frivolous pursue,” according to court records.
In a Monday motion, Liddy stated that “Enough is enough.” It is time to stop unfounded attacks against elections and false accusations about elected officials.
Maricopa County’s motion was “without basis in law and fact”, Lake’s lawyers stated in Monday’s response. They asked the court to reject the request for sanctions.
According to Lake’s legal team, “Trust in elections cannot be furthered by penalizing those who have legitimate claims like the plaintiff did here.” Sanctioning the plaintiff could have the exact opposite effect.
A judge could impose financial sanctions for violating a court order or misconduct.
Lake had sued Hobbs. Hobbs is Arizona’s secretary-general and will be elected governor along with other top officials from Maricopa County. She claimed that “hundreds and thousands of illegal ballots were infected with the election” in Maricopa County, which is the most populous in the state.
Hobbs filed a separate court application asking the Superior Court of Maricopa County for more than $600,000. This was to cover fees and expenses incurred in fighting Lake’s lawsuit.
Lake is a former TV news anchor who was one of the most prominent Republican candidates for the midterm election to support former Republican President Donald Trump’s false claims about voter fraud in 2020.
She was defeated by Hobbs in the governor’s race, but she refused to concede.
Lake was one the most well-known Trump-aligned Republican candidates that lost battleground states races during the midterm elections.
