Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake wrote that “no one is safe” after it was confirmed earlier this week that her lawyers may face punishment over her election-related lawsuits.
Ms. Lake, who is now running for Arizona’s Senate seat in 2024, filed multiple lawsuits and made multiple claims questioning the legitimacy of the election, particularly in Maricopa County. Both Mr. Olsen and Mr. Blehm were sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court over some of the assertions.
The probable cause step that was announced earlier this week may lead to a complaint that will be filed with the State Bar of Arizona before reaching the state Supreme Court for formal proceedings before a disciplinary judge.
Responding to the move, Ms. Lake wrote that it’s a sign “they are coming after my attorneys for having the courage to represent We the People in election challenges. The politicized Bar Association is trying to take away their law licenses.”
She also told a news outlet that “there is a war that’s happening against our republic. And I mean, I think that’s a fair assessment. I think there was a coup when they stole our election in Arizona.”
“There was a coup and a takeover of our state government. ... The people’s will .... was taken from them when they when they rigged an election and they installed people in our state government who were not duly elected. And this is why I continue to fight every day,” Ms. Lake concluded.
Late last month, an Arizona judge rejected the former Republican gubernatorial candidate’s request to view signed ballots of about 1.3 million early voters in the state.
In a ruling on Nov. 30, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah denied her lawyers from gaining access to the ballot envelopes in connection to last year’s elections. He argued that releasing the ballot envelopes and signatures would imperil the verification process for future Arizona elections.
Their release, he said, would also “expose voters to harassment and potentially force them to defend the integrity of their own votes. Some number of voters would stop participating entirely, out of fear of identity theft or concern about privacy.”
“Those individuals have exactly the same interest in being heard through the electoral process as those who voted for unsuccessful candidates in past elections. Their frustration and disillusionment are every bit as harmful to democratic self-government as the frustration and disillusionment of those who have come to doubt the ‘integrity’ of the electoral process,” Judge Hannah wrote.
Ms. Lake, a former TV anchor who is running for Arizona’s Senate seat in the 2024 election, has lost two trials. In the second trial, a judge rejected a misconduct claim Ms. Lake made about ballot signature verification efforts in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and where more than 60 percent of the state’s voters live.
In October, a federal appeals court rejected her case that sought to revive an attempt to bar electronic voting machines from future elections.
Ms. Lake announced several weeks ago that she was entering the race for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) Senate seat. She’ll likely face off against Ms. Sinema, who hasn’t yet publicly confirmed she is seeking reelection, and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who announced he’s running for the seat as a Democrat.
“I am not going to retreat. I’m gonna stand on top of this hill with every single one of you, and I know you’re by my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Ms. Lake told a crowd of supporters in October when announcing her run for the seat.
After the conclusion of the 2022 midterm election, Democrat Katie Hobbs was sworn in as Arizona’s governor in January. Ms. Lake has not yet conceded the gubernatorial election.
