Kari Lake is in deep defamation doo doo after Court of Appeals ruling / Opinion:

[GMDino]

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2024/01/10/kari-lake-loses-appeal-stephen-richer-defamation-case/72178505007/

Quote:Opinion: Kari Lake loses yet another bid to toss out Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer's defamation lawsuit. But isn't that a good thing? She now gets to prove her claim that he's a crook.
Laurie Roberts
Arizona Republic

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Rack up yet another loss for Kari Lake.


This time, it’s the Arizona Court of Appeals, which on Wednesday declined Lake’s plea that she shouldn’t be held accountable for what comes out of her mouth.

Lake appealed to the court on Friday, asking the three-judge panel to overrule a trial judge’s refusal to throw out Maricopa County Stephen Richer’s defamation lawsuit against her.

It took only five days for the Court of Appeals to say no.

So, the case will go forward to trial.
Isn't a trial good for Kari Lake?
I, for one, would think Lake would be happy.

For one thing, she can continue raising money from the MAGA Nation as she rails on about her First Amendment right to accuse Richer of criminal activity.

For another, she now will have the opportunity to prove her oft-repeated claim that he intentionally sabotaged the 2022 election.
Isn’t that a good thing if you are Kari Lake?

For more than a year, Lake has lambasted Maricopa County elections workers and officials and Richer in particular, detailing the many ways in which this lifelong Republican plotted to steal the election from her, the Republican nominee for governor.

The only thing she hasn’t offered up is any actual proof. Thus, her lengthy streak of losses in every court she has thus far approached a court with her incendiary claims.

In June, Richer — fed up finally with the harassment and the death threats to him and his family — called her on it, suing Lake for defamation.

Judge nixed 'rhetorical hyperbole' claim
Rather than demanding a quick trial so that she can “out” this supposedly dirty public official, Lake has asked — twice now — that the lawsuit be dismissed.

She claims Richer has no right to try to hold her accountable, no matter how many death threats he and his family must endure.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman disagreed. Last month, he rejected her lawyers’ claim that her accusations of intentional sabotage weren’t really claims of intentional sabotage but “mere rhetorical hyperbole.”

The judge didn’t buy it, pointing out that her specific claims of criminal activity are either provable — or not.

The judge also rejected her claim that the lawsuit is just a sleazy, illegal attempt by a politician to silence his critics.

“The court is satisfied that the disputed statements — if indeed they are ‘provable’ as false or defamatory — would be undeserving of the protections associated with our First Amendment principles,” Adleman wrote.

Kari Lake dug this hole herself
In fact, he found that Richer may also have the goods to prove “actual malice,” which is another way of saying Kari Lake is in deep, deep trouble.

Maybe not Rudy Giuliani deep — Giuliani was recently hit with a $148 million jury verdict after a judge found he defamed a pair of Georgia poll workers — but a hole nonetheless.

One that she dug with her own mouth.

Trump's taunt of McCain:Is bad news for Kari Lake

Of course, Lake doesn’t see it that way. She casts herself as the courageous victim, standing up to the forces of evil that conspire to silence her and rob her of a spot in the U.S. Senate.

“@StephenRicher is suing me for defamation through a Soros-backed group called Project Democracy. It’s an in-kind donation to @RubenGallego. But it’s bigger than that,” she wrote on social media in response to Wednesday’s ruling. “They’re trying to take away our protected political speech so nobody running for office will be able to speak out and criticize elected officials.

“They’re trying to criminalize honest journalism and our freedom of the press. They’re trying to prevent moms and dads from going to school board meetings and criticizing their representatives. If this is successful, it will be the death of our First Amendment. People need to care and pay attention to this.”

Now, she can prove her claims in court
So, America won’t be America anymore because Kari Lake is being asked to back up her accusation that Stephen Richer committed crimes in order to fix the 2022 election?


Wednesday’s appellate court ruling clears the way for Lake to prove her claim that personally sabotaged the election by adding 300,000 phony ballots to the vote tally. (Never mind that the judge in Lake’s election challenge rejected that claim a year ago.)

She now gets her day in court to prove her claim that he intentionally set printers to shrink Election Day ballots so they couldn’t be counted. (Never mind that Richer has nothing to do with Election Day voting and that the votes ultimately were counted.)

Isn’t that a good thing if you are Kari Lake?

[*Nately120*]

If you are in a little bit of legal trouble, most people might think you aren't all that guilty

Id you are in a lot of legal trouble, most people will think you are guilty

If you try to make yourself look as guilty and unapologetic as possible, most people will think you are guilty but there will be a segment of people who not only think you are NOT guilty, but will believe you are the only person who isn't guilty

[Dill]

Demanding evidence to prove claims--typical liberal attack on free speech!

When are we ever going to take our country back!?!

[*Nately120*]

(01-11-2024, 05:54 PM)Dill Wrote: Demanding evidence to prove claims--typical liberal attack on free speech!  

When are we ever going to take our country back!?!  

Well, if you are on team Kari Lake, the trick to taking your country back is to find people who claim elections are rigged, then lose elections, and then re-elect them in the primary to run in elections they will claim are rigged.  I mean, it might work god knows democrats are really crappy.

It wouldn't floor me if both Trump and Lake win, but I do have to wonder if they lose again when they say "It was rigged........again!" are their voters just going to fall in line again?  I mean, there has to be a point where your candidates become like the Buffalo Bills in the 90s and you just say enough is enough.

Actually, maybe this is more like back in the day when my cousin and I both had to share the nintendo and we were playing Kid Icarus and every time he'd get killed he'd declare that he didn't need to give me a turn because he lost in a game that "didn't count."

[NATI BENGALS]

Odds of being the VP pick are going up.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

(01-11-2024, 05:54 PM)Dill Wrote: Demanding evidence to prove claims--typical liberal attack on free speech!  

When are we ever going to take our country back!?!  

They take our country back every single day. That's why I've decided to support the side that is taking our country forward.

[*pally*]

(01-11-2024, 06:09 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Well, if you are on team Kari Lake, the trick to taking your country back is to find people who claim elections are rigged, then lose elections, and then re-elect them in the primary to run in elections they will claim are rigged.  I mean, it might work god knows democrats are really crappy.

It wouldn't floor me if both Trump and Lake win, but I do have to wonder if they lose again when they say "It was rigged........again!" are their voters just going to fall in line again?  I mean, there has to be a point where your candidates become like the Buffalo Bills in the 90s and you just say enough is enough.

Actually, maybe this is more like back in the day when my cousin and I both had to share the nintendo and we were playing Kid Icarus and every time he'd get killed he'd declare that he didn't need to give me a turn because he lost in a game that "didn't count."

I've never figured out why the Republicans never seem to question the down-ballot results.  I mean, seriously, do you think if Democrats rigged the the 2020 election, they would have managed to "win" an actual governable majority in the Senate and of course make Nancy Pelosi Speaker again?  And what about the State Houses which are actually more consequential on Americans' daily lives? Why rig the Presidential ballot and ignore everything else

[GMDino]

(01-13-2024, 08:51 AM)pally Wrote: I've never figured out why the Republicans never seem to question the down-ballot results.  I mean, seriously, do you think if Democrats rigged the the 2020 election, they would have managed to "win" an actual governable majority in the Senate and of course make Nancy Pelosi Speaker again?  And what about the State Houses which are actually more consequential on Americans' daily lives? Why rig the Presidential ballot and ignore everything else

They don't have to have a logic about it.  They just have to say it and the cult members nod in agreement.