Kari Lake Asking Republican National Committee to Help Pay Her Legal Fees

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake addresses the media outside the Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona, on Dec. 22, following two days of testimony in a civil case she filed seeking to overturn the Nov. 8 general election. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said she’s asking the Republican National Committee (RNC) to pay for her bills after she filed several election lawsuits challenging the state’s results.

During an interview on Jan. 27 with Steve Bannon, Lake stated that “I heard that [the RNC] raised a couple hundred million for election integrity” and she’s now “asking the RNC to help us pay for some of our legal bills.”

“We haven’t had them do that yet. They’ve said they would help a little bit. We are hoping that they actually do that,” Lake said in an interview on Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” appearing alongside MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. “The people are interested in election integrity, they know that our country is gone. It’s over, it’s caput, if we don’t have honest elections.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the RNC for comment.

Lake’s remarks came after the RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel won another term after receiving 111 out of 164 votes cast, defeating challengers including lawyer Harmeet Dhillon and Lindell. Following the GOP’s poorer-than-anticipated midterm results, there were calls for McDaniel’s ouster, although her reelection was praised by former President Donald Trump last week.

“I really believe that [McDaniel] heard the call of the grassroots. And she knows how important it is to not only support the grassroots, respect the grassroots, but bring them along. And I hope that we see some changes in the RNC so that we can grow it,” Lake also told a reporter outside her “Save America“ rally in over the past weekend.

Legal Challenges

Last week, Arizona’s Supreme Court struck down another request from Lake that the high court take up her election appeal. It’s currently being heard by the Arizona Court of Appeals.

In an order issued on Jan. 25, the Supreme Court ruled that, “as indicated by the Court of Appeals’ order setting an accelerated briefing schedule, the Court has no reason to doubt that the Court of Appeals appreciates Petitioner’s (Lake’s) desire for an expedited resolution.” The petition was denied without prejudice, the court wrote, adding that the appeals court “has had an adequate opportunity to consider the pleadings, conference the matter, and prepare a well-considered decision.”

Lake’s challenge is scheduled to be heard on Feb. 1 after the Court of Appeals approved an expedited briefing schedule earlier this month.

Arizona Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs (R) looks on as Kris Mayes (L), Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general, speaks at a press conference calling for abortion rights outside the Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona, on Oct. 7, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

A judge in Maricopa County, Peter Thompson, tossed her election lawsuit last month following a two-day trial, arguing that Lake’s team did not present enough evidence to show that enough voters could have been swung in her favor due to confirmed Election Day tabulation issues and other problems. That prompted Lake to file appeals with the two higher courts.

Thompson then ordered Lake to pay $33,040 to Hobbs for witness fees. Thompson rejected a petition from Hobbs’s team asking for nearly $700,000 in sanctions and attorney fees.

The judge reasoned that while Lake, according to him, did not provide enough evidence, her arguments were not “groundless and presented in bad faith.”

But Lake’s attorneys argue that widespread tabulation issues in Maricopa County on Nov. 8, 2022—confirmed by top Maricopa County officials Bill Gates and Stephen Richer that day—significantly impacted her chances of winning. State election data show that she lost to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs by just 17,000 votes.

“We’re going to move it all the way to the Supreme Court. It’s going there anyways, we’d love to see it just go there rather than have to go to the appellate court. Whatever happens, either side will move it up to the Supreme Court,” Lake said in an interview last week. Meanwhile, her War Room Twitter account revealed more evidence, including records that “revealed nearly a quarter of a million ballots were rejected on Election Day in Maricopa County.”

Lawyers for Hobbs, meanwhile, filed a petition seeking to dismiss Lake’s challenge earlier this month, asserting that Lake failed to provide enough evidence.

“Despite seven witnesses, hundreds of declarants, and thousands of pages of exhibits, Lake failed to demonstrate any violations of Arizona law and offered no evidence that absent alleged violations the outcome of the election would have been different,” said a filing from Hobbs, formerly the Arizona secretary of state.