We end 2023 like we ended 2022, with another loss for Lake Carey.
But it could also be the long-awaited first step toward holding accountable the state's biggest whiner, the failed candidate who just can't accept the fact that she lost the election.
Last week, a judge ruled that Lake did not have the right under the First Amendment to call Maricopa County Recorder Steven Richter a criminal.
She must now prove he deliberately sabotaged the 2022 election if she wants to avoid being subject to a multi-million dollar fine for defamation.
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Giuliani could not prove his election claims
I imagine Lake, waking up in a cold sweat while channeling his inner Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani – who was revered as "America's Mayor" until he became Donald Trump's errand boy – was recently handed a $148 million jury verdict after a judge admitted that he defamed two election workers in Georgia.
After the 2020 election, Giuliani released a video that he said showed workers filling voting machines with "bags" of fake ballots and handing out a "flash drive" containing electronic data, "as if These were vials of heroin or cocaine.
It turned out that the "bags" were actually organizational urns and the "flash drive" was a ginger mint.
What about election officials? They were terrorized, driven from their jobs and homes by a Trump mob seeking to make America great again, one death threat at a time.
Last week, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy, while continuing to claim that the two workers committed election fraud and that he could prove it.
But of course he didn't.
Kari Lake has done similar lambasting
Looks familiar?
For more than a year, Lake criticized Arizona election workers and Richer in particular, detailing the many imaginative ways the lifelong Republican set out to steal the election from the Republican gubernatorial candidate.
The only thing she's missing is actual evidence, which is why she lost her election challenge in court and all her appeals so far.
Yet Lake — whom Republicans are likely to pick for Senate in 2024 — continues to rage, peddling conspiracy theories and telling outright lies about the alleged malicious plot to steal his glorious gubernatorial election .
It’s about raising money, pissing off his perpetually angry supporters, and of course pleasing a certain former president looking for a new No. 2.
In June, Richer contacted her about the matter and she sued Lake for defamation.
Judge will not dismiss defamation lawsuit
Lake moved to dismiss the lawsuit, saying Richer had no right to try to hold her accountable, no matter how many death threats he and his family had to endure.
But Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adelman disagreed, rejecting his attorney's assertion that his vandalism accusations were "merely a rhetorical exaggeration."
“Indeed, Defendant Lake's statements regarding incorrect 19-inch ballots and/or the existence of 300,000 fraudulent ballots could be distinguished by an investigator as true or false in light of any evidence available." Lake's motion to dismiss the case was denied. “These statements constitute actionable assertions of fact under Arizona law.”
The judge also rejected his claim that the lawsuit is nothing more than an illegal and illicit attempt by a politician to silence his critics.
“The court is satisfied that the challenged statements – while they may be found to be false or defamatory – will not merit the protections associated with First Amendment principles,” Adelman wrote.
In fact, he found that Richer might have enough evidence to prove "actual malice," which is another way of saying that Carey Lake has a very deep problem.
If Reacher sabotaged the election, prove it
Lake opened his big mouth to accuse Reacher of crimes. Again and again. Now she will have to prove it.
Proving that he personally sabotaged the 2022 election by adding 300,000 fake ballots to the vote count. Not to mention the judge in Lake's election appeal rejected that claim a year ago.
Proving that he intentionally had the printers shrink the ballots on Election Day so they couldn't be counted. Not to mention, Risher had nothing to do with voting on Election Day.
Or maybe the votes were finally tallied. Or that the retired chief judge, appointed to investigate Election Day failures in the county, concluded that the problem was primarily due to equipment failure and not an intentional act.
The judge's decision means Richer will have his day in court. And this lake will get his paycheck too – for backing up his inflammatory claims with actual evidence.
Accountability. Yep, it's so unfair
Naturally, Lake sees a conspiracy afoot to silence her.
As if silencing her was even possible.
“This is about stripping us of our First Amendment rights and interfering in the U.S. Senate race,” she said angrily last week in response to the judge's ruling.
“They are suing me for defamation, for having the courage to denounce the whole election, not just the irregularities but also the electoral fraud,” she said with a sigh. "Government officials are suing me now, trying to take away everything I own because I have the courage to speak out. This shows they are trying to hide something."
If anything, it tells me that an election official whose family was bullied is standing up to the biggest camera-ready bully in the state, and it's about time someone did.
Lake became the darling of the MAGA movement by grinding the reputations of people like Richer into dust.
She is now held responsible. She was told she better be ready to back up her claims.
What absolute injustice.