On Tuesday, a Maricopa County judge threw out an unprecedented motion brought about by the county and Governor-elect Katie Hobbs to sanction her ex Republican rival Kari Lake.
When Maricopa County tried to punish Lake for its irresponsible effort to rig the November election using unproven allegations of fraud and misbehavior, New Mexico Attorney General Hobbs took a brave stance in support of Maricopa County. Judge Peter Thompson came to the conclusion that there wasn’t enough evidence to support such conduct happening after considerable thought.
TRENDING: NEW Trump Diamond Bills Will Drive Liberals Crazy!
According to the lawsuit, Hobbs and the county claimed on Monday that Lake’s election allegations were “groundless” and “not made in good faith.” They said that their request for $25,050, which included $18,730 in lawyers’ costs, was necessary to make up for Lake earlier saying that she wouldn’t accept the results of an election unless she won.
According to Thompson’s ruling on Tuesday, Lake’s assertions were neither “groundless” or made in “bad faith,” making punishment unjustified.
“The court finds that Plaintiff’s [Lake] claims presented in this litigation were not groundless and brought in bad faith under Arizona Revised Statutes,” the ruling read. “Therefore, it is ordered denying Defendant’s Motions For Attorney Fees and Sanctions.”
A court determined that Lake must pay Hobbs a total of more than $30,000 for the witnesses he utilized in the case that is now dismissed. This includes paying about $6,000 for Ryan Macias’ testimony and just under half that amount again ($22k) for Hobbs’ own presentation. Maxwell Schechter, who was present for the ballot inspections, also received further remuneration.
Lake’s attorney, Bryan Blehm, claimed in court on Monday that her witnesses presented “detailed facts” to demonstrate “intentional misconduct” election authorities, according to materials the Daily Caller was able to get. Lake and her witnesses testified in court with “legitimate” worries about Arizona’s voting procedures, according to his submission to the court.
Despite having a narrow margin of victory, Hobbs defeated Lake on November 8 by one percentage point, 50.4% to 49.5%. Despite losing, Lake wouldn’t accept defeat, calling the outcome “BS” on Twitter. It’s obvious that this race will be remembered as being very close for years!
On election day, a fifth of Maricopa County’s polling places had issues due to 60 malfunctioning voting machines. Republicans tried to extend the voting hours, but a court dismissed their request and directed authorities to hold the vote count for six days instead, making sure voters had enough opportunities to cast votes despite any possible problems (from malfunctioning machinery).
