Kari Lake settles defamation suit brought by Arizona election official, details remain private

Kari Lake settled a defamation lawsuit that Maricopa County, Arizona, Recorder Stephen Richer filed against her last summer.
In his initial filing, uploaded by NBC News, Richer claimed Lake, a former Fox 10 TV host, accused him of sabotaging her bid for governor in 2022 while she refused to accept the results of the election.
Richer and Lake reached a settlement, the details of which are confidential, as The Washington Post reported. Richer, a Republican who lost his bid for reelection in a GOP primary to Justin Heap, told the Post in a text message, “Both sides are satisfied with the result.”
Richer’s lawsuit says he recognizes the right to freedom of speech, but argues that Lake’s false statements aren’t protected by this constitutional right. The suit also states that the lies led Richer’s family to become the target of violent threats.
“Courts at every level of the Arizona judiciary have concluded that Defendants have no evidence to support their wild claims. But Defendants continued to spread these egregious and harmful falsities to further their own agendas — and line their own pockets — at Richer’s expense,” the complaint states.
Lake’s attorneys initially tried to get the suit tossed by defending her statements as true in December, but a judge denied that motion, noting “intentional misconduct,” as AZ Family reported.
In March, her attorneys asked for a default judgment but requested proof of the damages suffered by Richer because of Lake’s statements about him. Lake argued she isn’t backtracking on her statements, but would rather focus her attention on the U.S. Senate race.
But Richer saw this as a win. “It is now official that she accepts that all of that is a lie,” Richer told Capitol Media Services at the time.
“She has been lying the entire time; we have told her she has been lying the entire time,” Richer said.
Lake ran for Arizona’s Senate seat this year but lost to Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego. Lake has not yet conceded the race, but thanked her supporters.