Dominion took on Fox for repeating all kinds of lying, defamatory shit about their voting machines — and won. E. Jean Carroll triumphed in her defamation case against Trump. Now Maricopa County Recorder, Stephen Richer, a Republican, is suing Kari Lake for not only defaming him and his election team, but also for putting him, his family, and his colleagues in danger.
Richer wrote an editorial today in The Arizona Republic explaining his decision, which begins,
For the last seven months, a high-profile former statewide candidate for office — from my own political party — has spread falsehoods about our elections and about me specifically.
Rather than accept political defeat, rather than get a new job, she has sought to undermine confidence in our elections and has mobilized millions of her followers against me.
You know the story: The Trump-endorsed Lake lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race to Democrat Katie Hobbs by more than 17,000 votes, and she’s spent the next seven months filing (and losing) at least three major lawsuits challenging the outcome. When Lake’s not in court, she’s spewing lies online, at right-wing hatefests, and at local events, sometimes accusing Richer directly, as he tells it:
Following her loss in the November 2022 election, Lake alleged that I intentionally printed 19-inch images on 20-inch ballots for the purposes of sabotaging the election.
If that wasn’t enough, she also asserted that I inserted more than 300,000 invalid ballots into the county’s vote count to “steal” the election from her.
Even if he wanted to, Richer couldn’t do those things. We’ve heard the 300,000 number before: it’s usually the number of Mexicans who crossed the border to vote for the Democrat, now Lake says Richer just dumped 300,000 ballots into the mix—like those would be easy things to pull off.
Richer isn’t suing Lake because she keeps spewing mis-information; he’s all for free expression. No, it’s because her Big Lie endangers him and others:
Through her actions and statements, Lake has irreparably damaged my personal and professional life and reputation.
Her words have provoked death threats from Lake’s followers. I’ve been forced to increase my personal and professional security while still watching over my shoulder.
I’ve even lost friends and lifelong relationships because Lake has falsely painted me as a criminal.
Richer says his wife now requires added security at her job, and some election workers have started carrying guns because they’re followed, harassed, and accused of “stealing the election.” Thousands of others, Richer says, just quit. Thanks, Republicans.
For all the damage she’s done to Arizona’s election system, including the courts, so far judges have only sanctioned Lake, her attorneys, and her PAC $2,000 for gumming up the system and using it as a platform to spread their hokum and work the grift. Lake’s raised more than $2.5 million since the election with her 24/7 denier bullshit, so a few-thousand-dollar fine isn’t going to stop another appeal—in the courts and to her goobers. (No doubt Lake is already fundraising off Richer’s lawsuit.)
Richer doesn’t say what amount will hold Lake and others “accountable for their utter disregard for the truth and the grave harm they have caused,” but I hope it’s a big number that makes Lake squirm.