Arizona judge declines to sanction Kari Lake for lawsuit challenging election

Peter Thompson, a superior court judge in Maricopa county, rejected the case on Saturday, saying Lake, a Republican, had failed to prove there was intentional misconduct that cost her the race.

While he declined to order sanctions, Thompson did order Lake to pay Hobbs about $33,000 to cover some legal costs in the case. Maricopa county and Hobbs had requested about $695,000 in costs from her.

Lake, who lost the race by about 17,000 votes, was one of the most prominent spreaders of election misinformation in the 2022 campaign. She repeatedly said on the campaign trail, falsely, that the 2020 election was stolen. Ahead of the gubernatorial race this year, she declined to say whether she would accept the results if she lost.

Lake is appealing her loss in the case as well as the order to pay legal fees. She has indicated she will take the case all the way to the Arizona supreme court, though any appeal would have to move quickly since Hobbs is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, the Arizona Republic reported.