OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A judge who is overseeing the challenge to the election for Arizona governor has made a major decision.
Judge Peter Thompson has ordered Republican candidate Kari Lake, Secretary of State and Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors officials to appear at an emergency hearing on Tuesday, the Epoch Times reported.
“Judge Peter Thompson, in issuing the order, wrote that the court has ‘reviewed’ Lake’s ‘verified statement of election contest’ and said the ‘matter will be set on an accelerated basis.’ Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates were also ordered to attend the hearing, which will start at 2 p.m. ET,” the report said.
Maricopa County spokesman Fields Moseley said that the courts are the appropriate place to handle such claims and that Maricopa’s election division “looks forward to sharing facts about the administration of the 2022 General Election and our work to ensure every legal voter had an opportunity to cast their ballot,” Reuters reported.
LFG pic.twitter.com/pBPWONtAeW
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) December 10, 2022
Lake believes her lawsuit will prevail and said she’s willing to “take it all the way to the Supreme Court” if necessary.
“We’re ready to go with what we believe to be an exceptional lawsuit. And we believe we will be victorious in that lawsuit,” Lake told Steve Bannon on the War Room podcast. “We’ll take it all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to. We will not stop fighting.”
Hobbs certified her own win over Lake on Monday with outgoing Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, Attorney General Mark Brnovich, and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel as witnesses, according to ABC News.
With the certification complete, Lake had five days to file legal challenges in court.
Today, we certified the election. pic.twitter.com/BD0SsKg5tB
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) December 5, 2022
“We’re ready to go with what we believe to be an exceptional lawsuit. And we believe we will be victorious in that lawsuit,” Lake told Real America’s Voice “War Room” host Steve Bannon.
“We’ll take it all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to. We will not stop fighting,” she continued.
Over the weekend, Lake’s campaign issued a blistering response after being rebuked by a federal judge appointed by then-President Barack Obama, who also imposed a fine after filing an election-related lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi of the District of Arizona rejected a Lake lawsuit earlier this year and then moved to fine her attorneys and those of Republican Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem last week.
“Imposing sanctions, in this case, is not to ignore the importance of putting in place procedures to ensure that our elections are secure and reliable,” Tuchi wrote in his order. “It is to make clear that the Court will not condone litigants ignoring the steps that Arizona has already taken toward this end and furthering false narratives that baselessly undermine public trust at a time of increasing disinformation about, and distrust in, the democratic process.
“It is to send a message to those who might file similarly baseless suits in the future,” Tuchi’s order noted further.
