Arizona judge orders Republican Kari Lake to pay $33K in fees to Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs

An Arizona judge has ordered Republican Kari Lake to pay $33,000 in legal fees to Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs after dismissing Lake’s bid to overturn the results of the 2022 gubernatorial election. 

Lake filed a notice of appeal Tuesday after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ordered her to compensate expert witnesses that defended election officials against Lake’s claims. Hobbs won the election by about 17,000 votes and had sought additional sanctions against her defeated Republican opponent, but the judge rejected her request. 

“There is no doubt that each side believes firmly in its position with great conviction,” Thompson wrote. “The fact that plaintiff [Lake] failed to meet the burden of clear and convincing evidence … does not equate to a finding that her claims were, or were not, groundless and presented in bad faith.”

The court had heard arguments from Lake that problems with ballot printers at some polling places on Election Day were the result of intentional misconduct. She also produced expert testimony that purported to show how frustrations with tabulator malfunctions depressed Republican voter turnout, affecting the outcome of the election. 

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Thompson rejected these arguments “because of faulty underpinnings in fact, unsupported assumptions and foundation,” finding that Lake did not show clear and convincing evidence the election tainted by intentional misconduct. 

In last week’s ruling, the judge acknowledged the “anger and frustration” of voters who were inconvenienced in the election but noted that setting aside the results of an election “has never been done in the history of the United States.”

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Lake is now asking the Arizona Supreme Court to hear her case. 

“I am standing up for the people of this state. The people who were done wrong on Election Day and the millions of people who live outside of Maricopa County, whose vote was watered down by this bogus election in Maricopa County,” Lake said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast Tuesday. 

She had declared her intention to appeal in a tweet last week after the court handed down its ruling. 

“My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law,” Lake said. “This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.