Kari Lake, the combative Republican figure and noted ally of former President Trump, has opted not to defend herself in a defamation lawsuit launched by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Instead, Lake is defying convention and choosing to quickly move forward to a jury trial solely on the issue of damages, as her legal team filed a motion on Tuesday for a default judgment, thereby acknowledging their client's statements were defamatory. This came after the Arizona Supreme Court recently dismissed Lake's attempt to have the lawsuit thrown out, according to a report by 12News.
In an online video message to her supporters, Lake stated "By participating in this lawsuit, it would only serve to legitimize this perversion of our legal system and allow bad actors to interfere in our upcoming election," The lawsuit stems from claims made by Lake where she accused Richer of deliberately misprinting ballots in a way that would jam tabulators—a key element in her broader narrative of election fraud in the 2022 gubernatorial race that she lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs, as reported by NBC News.
Richer's legal action details how Lake's assertions subjected him and his family to severe harassment and threats, including violence and death threats, which upended their lives. Lake's camp, now pushing to have Richer's medical and psychiatric records disclosed, claims these records are necessary to prove Richer's allegations regarding the impact on his health—a requirement, says Lake, for the assessment of proper damages.
As for Richer, he described Lake's acknowledgment of defamation as an admission she "just said to a court of law, 'Yes, I did defame him.'" In an interview provided by 12News, Richer expressed his intention to seek "millions" in damages for the spread of what he deems "knowing and malicious falsehoods" by Lake.
Analysts view Lake's strategy as a risky bet, with civil litigator Mark Kokanovich warning that "It's very dangerous once you concede that you're liable for defamation." In an analysis of 12News, he explained, "A default judgment is essentially an admission of liability and admission that the statements that were made were false statements and knowingly false statements." The court will now determine the damages based on Richer's claims, as Lake has chosen to not participate directly in the litigation process.
