Last Call For Lake Of Fire, Con't

Failed Republican professional loser Kari Lake has lost yet again, with an Arizona judge ruling against her idiotic "election fraud" claims for the final time.

 

A Maricopa County judge has affirmed — again — Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' win in November and rejected Republican Kari Lake's claims that improper signature verification and misconduct affected the outcome.

The ruling comes after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson heard three days of testimony and argument in his Mesa courtroom May 17-19. That proceeding, an unusual second trial in Lake's legal challenge to her November loss to Hobbs, was limited to a single claim about signature verification.

Lake's legal team argued it could prove signatures were examined in a matter of seconds, so short a timeframe it did not count as verification under state law. Thompson, in a Monday night ruling, disagreed.

"Accepting that argument would require the court to re-write not only the (Election Procedures Manual) but Arizona law to insert a minimum time for signature verification and specify the variables to be considered in the process," he wrote.

Lake has not conceded the race, which she lost by 17,117 votes, or less than 1 percentage point. Instead, she's pressed forward in court asking judges to set aside Hobbs' win, and she is likely to appeal Thompson's latest ruling.

Defense lawyers welcomed Thompson's decision following the case that, while seemingly about signature verification, often veered into larger questions about securing elections and voter trust.

"The court's ruling only confirms what we have known all along: Arizona’s elections are safe, secure, and reliable, and those who help facilitate Arizona’s elections are honest, have the highest integrity, and are committed to the preservation of our democracy," said Craig Morgan, an attorney with Sherman & Howard who represented the secretary of state. "This is a victory for Arizona, our election processes, and voters across the state."

In a statement, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman, a Republican, critiqued Lake's false claims and her effort to "discard the valid votes of hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters."

"When 'bombshells' and 'smoking guns' are not backed up by facts, they fail in court," he said. "This is justice, and this is what happened today in Kari Lake’s election contest."

 

And with Lake's definitive court loss, Maricopa County is quickly pressing for additional fines and sanctions against Lake's legal team. 

Lawyers for Maricopa County have asked a judge to issue sanctions against former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's legal team for its "heinous and profoundly harmful" claims that the November 2022 election was "rigged."

In a request late Monday, deputy county attorneys laid out five "material misrepresentations of fact" made by Lake's lawyers leading up to and during a three-day trial last week. The attorneys ask the judge to order Lake's attorneys to pay a fine, although they leave the amount up to the court to determine.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson on Monday affirmed Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' win in November and rejected Lake's claims that improper signature verification and misconduct affected the outcome.

If Thompson agrees to order sanctions, his would be the second court to do so in Lake's six-month legal effort to overturn her loss to Hobbs.

 

Of course, Lake doesn't care in the least. She has her eyes set on bigger things, like failing her way into the US Senate.

Former Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake on Tuesday pledged to appeal her latest courtroom loss in her effort to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

"We're also going to continue to, not only raise funds, but energy, for our legal team to continue pushing our case to the United States Supreme Court," Lake said in a news conference outside her campaign headquarters that pivoted between grievances over 2022, looking forward to 2024, and taking on reporters in Lake's characteristic combative style.

 

Why should any Republican accept an election loss ever again?

In her news conference, Lake repeatedly made false claims that contradicted Thompson's latest ruling and that were not substantiated by two other courts — the state Court of Appeals and Arizona Supreme Court — that have considered the case. She called Hobbs a "fraud who is sitting in the Governor's Office" and alleged "criminals and crooks" operate elections.

“The courts just ruled that this corrupt election will stand," Lake said. "The courts just ruled that our elections can run lawlessly. The courts have ruled that anything goes. Well, we can play by those same rules.”

She also announced Tuesday a vague plan to register voters and "chase ballots," signaling a shift in her focus as her appeals continue to unfold. The former candidate said she would spend millions of dollars on that effort through her Save Arizona Fund. What her own political future holds is uncertain, and Lake repeated on Tuesday she was considering a run for U.S. Senate next year.

"I haven’t made up my mind on that," she told reporters.

 

In a three-way Senate race with Kyrsten Sinema and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, I expect Lake would have an excellent chance at winning.