The battle between Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs continues in Arizona. Hobbs was proclaimed the winner of the midterm election after garnering around 17,000 more votes than his opponent, Lake. In Maricopa County, however, nearly 20,000 ballots unexpectedly arrived at the last minute, propelling Hobbs to victory in the vote tally.
Since then, Lake has been pursuing justice through litigation. Judge Peter Thompson recently found that Lake failed to establish her case, but Lake has appealed the ruling and is now requesting an overdue hand count.
In response to a Twitter user who demanded a “full hand recount of all AZ ballots,” Lake responded with three simple words: “Yes. We. Do.”
Newsweek reported: “Lake was responding to a post from Cory McGarr, a conservative member-elect of the Arizona House of Representatives. In his tweet, McGarr pushed for the hand recount and said: ‘If there’s nothing to hide there’s nothing to fear.’ McGarr also tagged Abraham Hamadeh, a Lake ally and former GOP candidate for Arizona attorney general who challenged the results of his own recent election after he lost. A recent recount in that race confirmed that Hamadeh had, in fact, lost to his Democratic opponent Kris Mayes—although by a slimmer margin than the initial tally.”
Lake filed an appeal last week after a judge denied her allegations in a lawsuit seeking to reverse her election defeat to Hobbs.
Lake stated on “The Larry Elder Show” on Epoch TV that those contesting her election litigation had “picked the wrong woman to mess with” and pledged to push her case “all the way to the Supreme Court” if necessary.
“Somebody said, ‘Oh, just be graceful, you lost.’ No, we didn’t lose. If I would have lost I would be graceful. And I promised when I ran for governor that I would stand up and fight for the people of Arizona every single day. And I’m still fighting for them because they’re asking me,” Lake said.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve had days where I just go, ‘I’m tired.’ But I can’t walk away. I can’t say to the children, ‘Good luck. I had a great life. I had freedom in America. Good luck and enjoy the communism,’” she added.
WATCH:
.@KariLake: "I'm hoping our appeal is more of the same. Where people actually get to see how corrupt this is. One of the things the judge would not allow us to bring forth was the count on the lack of signature verification, or at least the process that is so broken." pic.twitter.com/gxM96epT8c
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) December 30, 2022
.@KariLake: "She's a complete joke. She couldn't even articulate her policies. She didn't show up to debate. She didn't even campaign. We have our very own version of Joe Biden here in Arizona. And her name is @katiehobbs." pic.twitter.com/fyLdLQ0L1E
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) December 30, 2022
Lake is requesting that the Arizona Court of Appeals review the dismissal of all ten counts of his case by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.
Lake also requests that the appeals court reverse the verdict ordering her to pay Hobbs $33,000 in fees. Hobbs sought penalties against Lake, but Judge Peter Thompson refused her plea. However, the court did pay Hobbs little more than $33,000 to cover the costs of employing expert witnesses during a two-day hearing filed by Lake, who contested the results of the November governor’s race.
“After the litigation, Hobbs filed a request to the court seeking $36,990 in attorneys’ fees and expenses paid during a two-day trial, as well as sanctions against Lake. The court denied Hobbs’ request for sanctions against Lake, saying the claims presented in litigation were not groundless or brought in bad faith. But costs associated with fees of witnesses were covered, for the most part. Hobbs requested reimbursement of $5,900 for an expert who was retained and who testified during the court hearing,” according to Fox News.
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
“She also filed a separate request for expert witness fees in the amount of $22,451 and an additional $4,689.50 for the reimbursement of a person designated to inspect the ballots. The ballot inspector’s compensation, according to court documents, was charged at a rate of $565 per hour for 8.3 hours. The court agreed to reimburse the $33,040.50 to Hobbs. It also ordered that the amount accrue an annual interest of 7.5% until the money is paid in full,” the report added.
Judge Thompson wrote in his decision: “Every one of Plaintiff’s witnesses — and for that matter, Defendants’ witnesses as well — was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct. The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.” CONTINUE READING…