A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to fire hundreds of employees working for the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279211/gov.uscourts.dcd.279211.164.0.pdf">blocked</a> Acting USAGM CEO Kari Lake’s <a href="https://x.com/KariLake/status/1961600955343843577">plan</a> to lay off 532 employees while litigation over the case proceeds. Most of the employees who were set to be terminated on September 30 worked for Voice of America, a taxpayer-funded international media outlet that Lake has <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/kari-lake-hellbent-deporting-her-203835847.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEX4ukzDpdtiRTcSbsAcx9MfDyLp5RiFB12XuaicvET2fHW77F76yEa3Olfr_5d4GWvDTWndlrSd56gDRr6GENKfgXrdd3KOSbYOH5OVyALuaRnvwHSTogFFwqVl4jRx-mRIqWTXaiIwHbhwMKH0W8FZqjDkuWjSUh-K-l2p98py">described</a> as &#8220;rotten to the core&#8221; and &#8220;anti-American.&#8221; 
“The Reduction in Force announced by Defendant Lake on or about August 29, 2025, is SUSPENDED and may NOT be implemented, effectuated, or completed in any way,” Lamberth wrote. 
Lake said that the firings were necessary to &#8220;help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money.&#8221;
USAGM operates other networks, such as Radio Free Europe and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. 
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Lamberth said that the Trump administration did not defend the firings on their merits.
“Rather than providing a rationale for the [reduction in force] on its merits, the defendants instead offer an array of other reasons not to grant relief. But even a cursory examination of the relevant law and key facts reveal these objections are all bark and no bite,” he wrote. 
The judge stated that a recent Supreme Court ruling, which allowed the Trump administration to fire hundreds of Department of Education employees, did not apply to this case. He also said that Lake had ignored previous directives from the court. 
“The Court must offer an observation on the concerning disrespect the defendants have shown toward the Court’s orders since the entry of the preliminary injunction. It is the Court’s view that the defendants’ disregard for its earlier orders to produce information would more than support a trial on civil contempt,” he wrote. 
In a statement to the Washington Post, Lake <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/09/29/voa-usagm-kari-lake-judge/">said</a> that she has “seen a huge ‘disrespect’ from the district courts toward the Executive Branch and the American people who have voted overwhelmingly to support President Donald J. Trump.”
In March, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/continuing-the-reduction-of-the-federal-bureaucracy/">executive order</a> that directed the USAGM to be “eliminated to the maximum extent possible consistent with federal law.”
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/the-voice-of-radical-america/">has argued</a> that agency-run outlets like Voice of America have become increasingly partisan and pushed radical leftist ideologies. In a fact sheet, the White House pointed to reports on transgender-identifying migrants wanting asylum in the United States and “white privilege.”

Kari Lake Testifies In House Hearing On U.S. Agency For Global Medias Downfall

Trump Admin Blocked From Cleaning House At Voice Of America

Courts

Kari Lake

Politics

Trump Administration

Voice of America

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a> emerged victorious on Wednesday in her bid to become the GOP nominee in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a>&#8216;s 2024 U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> race.
Multiple news outlets declared Lake the winner over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and neuroscientist Elizabeth Reye.
With <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/30/us/elections/results-arizona-us-senate-primary.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly 80% of the votes counted</a>, Lake led with 340,213 votes or 55.4%. Lamb received 240,877 votes or 39.2%. And Reye got 33,287 votes or 5.4%.
&#8220;This isn&#8217;t about right or left. This is about what&#8217;s right for America and what’s wrong,&#8221; Lake <a href="https://x.com/KariLake/status/1818510914565660871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X. &#8220;This is an all-hands-on-deck moment to save this country.&#8221;
She added, &#8220;So, I invite everyone, conservatives, independents, libertarians, and Democrats to join our movement. We welcome you with open arms.&#8221;
Lake is poised to face off against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who secured the Democratic Party&#8217;s nomination in Arizona&#8217;s U.S. Senate race while running unopposed.
The candidates are vying for the seat currently held by Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kyrsten-sinema" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrsten Sinema</a> (I-AZ), who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kyrsten-sinema-announces-she-is-leaving-u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opted not to run</a> for re-election this year.
Lake is a former journalist who ran to become Arizona&#8217;s governor in 2022 against Democrat Katie Hobbs while making election integrity a top priority of her campaign.
After Hobbs won the gubernatorial contest, Lake took legal action over alleged problems in the race and ultimately <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-dismisses-final-claim-in-kari-lakes-2022-election-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did not prevail</a>.
In her 2024 Senate bid, Lake raised $10.3 million through the end of June, while Lamb collected $2 million, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-primary-kari-lake-3735ed2216bb21355af530f0dd01f02c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Associated Press</a>.
Lake had the backing of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>, who is running another campaign for the White House this year.
&#8220;She’s fantastic. She will not let us down. Kari Lake, I just think she’s going to be as good as you can get. There’s nobody going to be better,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-primary-kari-lake-3735ed2216bb21355af530f0dd01f02c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly said</a> of Lake in a telephone rally on Monday.
The election will determine which party controls both chambers of Congress. At the moment, Democrats lead the Senate.
Gallego is already <a href="https://x.com/RubenGallego/status/1818490921962684761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing abortion</a> as a wedge issue in the Arizona Senate race, while Lake <a href="https://x.com/KariLake/status/1818533461625651563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presses for &#8220;America First&#8221; policies</a> on issues such as immigration and the economy.
The Cook Political Report <a href="https://x.com/CookPolitical/status/1818494863777685630" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> in a post to X that Lake won the GOP primary &#8220;by a smaller margin than expected&#8221; while assessing that &#8220;Lake remains a slight underdog&#8221; against Gallego and rating the contest &#8220;Lean Democrat.&#8221;

Kari Lake Wins Senate GOP Primary In Arizona

2024 Election

Arizona

Elections

U.S. Senate

Voters in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a> will have the opportunity to enact broad border security measures in November as the state faces a flood of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/illegal-immigration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal immigration</a> after the Republican-led state legislature passed a resolution that will put the measures on the general election ballot. 
The measures, collectively known as the “Secure the Border Act,” include provisions making illegal immigration a state crime, meaning law enforcement will be allowed to arrest illegal immigrants who enter the state. Other states, like Texas and Oklahoma, have enacted similar laws. 
“Nothing good comes from open borders,” Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma said in a statement after the House passed the measure, <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/06/04/us-news/arizona-moves-closer-to-making-illegal-immigration-a-state-crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the New York Post. “Only crime, deadly drugs, violence, unsafe communities, and an unending financial drain on American taxpayers. Yet, Democrat leaders fiercely oppose doing anything about it.”
The measure <a href="https://legiscan.com/AZ/votes/HCR2060/2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> 31-29 in the House and 16-13 in the Senate with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition. 
The ballot initiative could drive voters concerned with illegal immigration to the polls — which could hurt President Joe Biden, who has been broadly criticized for his handling of illegal immigration, in the swing state. 
According to the <a href="https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/HCR2060/id/2995893" target="_blank" rel="noopener">text</a> of the resolution, it would empower “law enforcement to protect the public by arresting aliens who fail to enter Arizona&#8217;s southern border through official ports of entry.”
It would also create “criminal offenses for a person to knowingly present false documents to obtain public benefits or to evade workplace eligibility detection through the e-verify program” and increase “punishments for criminals who fuel the crisis at the southern border by selling fentanyl that causes the death of another person.”
Additionally, the resolution would enhance Arizona law to ensure that individuals illegally in the state would not be able to receive public benefits or become eligible for entitlement programs. 
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The ballot initiative will give Arizona voters a chance to bypass Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who vetoed a bill that would have enacted similar measures earlier this year. Hobbs <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/controversial-immigration-measure-goes-arizona-ballots-biden-trump-rcna152226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the legislation would “demonize our communities and lead to racial profiling.” 
“Arizonans are crying out for common sense security measures,” Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake told NBC News. “I am encouraged that Arizona Republican state legislators are doing their best to deliver it — even if they have to go around Hobbs’ veto to do it.”
Record levels of illegal immigrants have poured across the border under Biden, including in Arizona. Former President Donald Trump has made securing the border a large part of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Migrant Crossings At Southern Border Increase As Title 42 Policy Expires

Arizonans To Vote On Ballot Measure That Would Make Illegal Immigration State Crime

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Joe Biden

Katie Hobbs

This is the first part of an edited <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-knowles-offers-the-case-against-murder-an-anti-abortion-speech-at-university-of-wisconsin-madison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> delivered by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-michael-knowles-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Knowles</a> at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Who exactly are our friends? It’s getting trickier to tell. More precisely, who are our political allies? If this speech had taken place a month or two ago, I would have had a pretty clear answer. Today, it’s a little less clear — and that’s thanks to one issue in particular: abortion. 
Over the past few weeks, some conservative politicians have started moving to the Left on abortion. They’re doing so because they fear that taking too strong of a pro-life stance will cost them their elections. And it’s a fair concern. In order to accomplish anything in politics, one needs to win elections. To <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/320506-mcconnell-winners-make-policy-and-losers-go-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quote</a> Mitch McConnell, “Winners make policy, and the losers go home.”
President Trump made this point recently when he unveiled the abortion plank of his platform. Just a week or so ago, President Trump reaffirmed that he’s pro-life and that he favors exceptions in the case of babies conceived in rape or incest as well as in the case of a threat to the life of the mother. He went on to say that he opposes the regulation of abortion at the federal level and sides, instead, with the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which declared abortion an issue <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-releases-long-awaited-abortion-position-says-policies-should-be-left-to-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for state legislatures to decide</a>. 
Some pro-lifers have criticized Trump for this stance. They wish, in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal, that he would go further. They wish he would come out in support of a national abortion ban — or even an additional Court ruling that would ban abortion on the basis of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Some have gone so far as to claim that President Trump is not a pro-life candidate. 
This, I think, is unfair. Deeply unfair. Because President Trump is the only reason we’re even having this debate. President Trump is the reason Roe v. Wade was reversed in the first place. There have been six Republican presidents since Roe v. Wade invented a national license to abortion. Six Republican presidents since the first March for Life in 1974. President Trump is the first one to address the March. Nixon didn’t show up. Ford didn’t show up. Not even Ronald Reagan or either of the Bushes showed up. Just Trump. 
And of the six Republican presidents since Roe, President Trump’s platform is at least as pro-life as that of his predecessors. In some ways, it’s even more so. Some forget that President Reagan actually legalized abortion in the state of California when he was governor. Now, I certainly do not mean to besmirch the memory of the Gipper, a great man who came to regret that decision and who later campaigned on behalf of the pro-life movement. I just mention it to point out that some pro-lifers are holding President Trump to a far more exacting standard than any to which they have held his predecessors — a standard that seems particularly unfair since President Trump has done more than any Republican president or presidential candidate in history to protect babies in the womb. 
I am as pro-life as they come. I observed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-knowles-offers-the-case-against-murder-an-anti-abortion-speech-at-university-of-wisconsin-madison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a speech</a> a few weeks ago at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that abortion is intrinsically evil and that legal abortion is a historical aberration in America. That for most of American history, when the issue was addressed at all, abortion was simply outlawed. I observed that, until the Sexual Revolution of the mid-20th century, abortion became even more restricted the more scientists discovered about the origins and development of human life. If you’d like to hear more of the moral and historical arguments against abortion, I encourage you to watch my University of Wisconsin-Madison lecture <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jas0TnmHOoA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on YouTube</a> or read <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-pro-abortion-crowd-wants-to-pretend-that-infanticide-is-a-constitutional-right" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part one</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/examining-the-lefts-position-on-killing-an-innocent-baby" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part two</a> via The Daily Wire. I would happily return to America’s historical norm, which protected all innocent life. 
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-michael-knowles-show">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h4>
But that’s easy to say and harder to do, which is President Trump’s point. He recognizes, as political philosophy has recognized since at least Aristotle, that prudence is the chief political virtue. We have to take the wins we can get today so that we can score even more wins tomorrow. We have to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 
So, I’m all for prudence. But some Right-wing politicians are going much further than President Trump prudential calculation. I’m sorry to say that’s what conservative Senate candidate Kari Lake has recently done. Kari Lake, whom I’ve always liked, put out a new abortion platform. 
She <a href="https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/video/2024/04/democrats-seize-opportunity-to-make-gains-after-arizona-abortion-decision">said</a> that abortion “is such a personal and private issue. I chose life, but I’m not every woman. I want to make sure that every woman who finds herself pregnant has more choices so that she can make that choice that I made.” 
As I said, I like Kari Lake, and she is, of course, far preferable to her liberal opponent, who describes the murder of babies as a “sacred right.” So please consider this in the spirit in which it is intended: as a fraternal correction from someone who wants her to win, who hates to see her campaign torpedo itself, and who would especially hate to see other conservative campaigns torpedo themselves by following suit. 
What’s wrong with the statement? Everything, pretty much. It begins by calling abortion “a personal and private issue.” It is not. A personal and private issue is an issue that affects only an individual. “Will I have a hot dog or a hamburger for lunch?” is a personal and private issue. “Will I murder my child?” is not a personal or private issue because it affects someone else — namely, the child. That makes it a political issue. Abortion is obviously a political issue. Politicians and voters have been debating it for more than 50 years. 
<h4>“I chose life, but I’m not every woman.” </h4>
Right, you’re not every woman: You’re a candidate for public office articulating your position on public policy. Would we ever accept this kind of rhetoric on any other political issue? “I choose not to commit rape, I choose not to burglarize people’s homes … but I’m not every man.” Does that mean we ought to permit other men to rape and burgle? I don’t think so. 
One chooses not to do those things because those acts are wrong. They’re so obviously and egregiously wrong that we pass laws against them. Why did she choose not to abort her child? She chose not to abort her child because she knew it was wrong; she knew her child had a right to life. Is it good for some women not to murder their children but not for others? Is it good for some children to be allowed to live but not for others? Of course not. 
To say, “I would never personally have an abortion, but I think other people should be able to,” is tantamount to saying, “I would never snuff the life out of my precious progeny, but I don’t really care about yours. Throw him in the trash, for all I care.” I don’t think this is what the people who hold this view intend to say, but that is what they’re saying. That’s what the statement means. 
<h4>“I want to make sure that every woman who finds herself pregnant has more choices so that she can make that choice that I made.” </h4>
Come again? That sentence is the nearest in the platform to being defensible. And it still misses the mark. If the sentence read, “I want to make sure that every woman who finds herself pregnant has more … resources … so that she can make that choice that I made,” that would be perfectly fine. It would be quite good actually. “I want to make sure that every woman who finds herself pregnant has more … support, love, opportunity … so that she can make that choice that I made” — great! I’m all for it. But “choice”? How does having a greater “choice” to kill your child improve the odds that you won’t? By definition, the expansion of such “choice” would greatly decrease the odds that a mother chooses life. 
So, as I said: I like Kari Lake a lot, I hope her campaign corrects course and that she wins. So I want to be constructive here. What should her campaign say? Beyond the Arizona race, what should conservative candidates for federal office across the nation say about abortion in a hotly contested election year when the pro-life side has been losing at the ballot box? 
It seems to me they should keep saying what they’ve been saying that has scored us lots of wins. That is, they should say that they support life, they support babies and mothers, and they respect the Supreme Court precedent established in Dobbs that abortion is a matter for the states rather than the federal government.

5Knowles_2020_headshot (1) copy

Conservative Candidates For Federal Office Should Continue To Support Babies, Mothers, And Life

Abortion

Conservatives

Michael Knowles

Opinion

Pro-Life Movement

U.S. Politics

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which works to elect GOP senators, endorsed Republican candidate Kari Lake on Tuesday as the party aims to flip control of the Senate in the 2024 election.
Republicans have circled Arizona as a vital Senate race in the upcoming cycle as the party needs to flip at least two seats to regain control of the upper chamber of Congress. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the chair of the NRSC, released a statement on Tuesday announcing the committee’s endorsement of Lake, calling her “one of the most talented candidates in the country.”
“Kari is building an effective campaign operation that has what it takes to flip Arizona’s Senate seat in November. I’m proud to endorse Kari Lake for United States Senate,” Daines said.
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&mdash; Senate Republicans (@NRSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRSC/status/1757409993140076874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Lake, who has positioned herself as an anti-establishment firebrand within the Republican Party, accepted the NRSC’s endorsement with gratitude.
“I am honored to have the endorsement of Chairman Daines and the NRSC,” Lake told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/13/kari-lake-nrsc-endorsement-00141107" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a>. “We are uniting Republicans in Arizona and have a clear path to victory, The Senate Majority runs through Arizona.”
The former news anchor won the Republican nomination for Arizona governor in 2022 but was narrowly defeated by Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs, who <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/results/arizona/governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> around 17,000 more votes than Lake. The Republican candidate <a href="https://azmirror.com/2023/09/19/kari-lake-appeals-again-accuses-maricopa-county-of-engineered-election-day-chaos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appealed</a> the results of the 2022 election multiple times with no success, arguing the vote was swayed by “chaos” that was “engineered” by Maricopa County on Election Day. On Election Day in 2022, voting machines in Maricopa County had <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/maricopa-county-releases-report-investigation-2022-election-ballot-printing-issues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issues</a> reading the ballots cast.
Along with Lake&#8217;s loss in the 2022 gubernatorial election, Republicans also failed to flip the Senate seat held by Democrat Mark Kelly as Kelly <a href="https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/arizona/senate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handily defeated</a> GOP nominee Blake Masters.
Lake, a devoted Trump supporter, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/kari-lake-kicks-arizona-senate-bid-trump-endorsement-rcna119502" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jumped</a> into the Senate race in Arizona last October with the former president’s endorsement, hoping to win the seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat who recently became an independent. Multiple Republican candidates, including Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, are challenging Lake for the nomination, while Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is expected to be the Democratic nominee.
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The NRSC’s endorsement of Lake comes amid a scandal within the Arizona GOP that exploded when Lake <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-gop-chair-resigns-over-release-of-alleged-bribery-recording" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked</a> an audio recording of Arizona Republican Party chairman Jeff DeWit allegedly bribing the candidate to suspend her Senate campaign. DeWit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/az-gop-chair-accuses-kari-lake-of-set-up-in-secret-recording-lake-denies-blackmail-accusations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the secret audio recording from Lake “deceptive” and “selectively edited,” adding that it was “orchestrated” by Lake in an attempt to “have control over the state party.”
Lake’s campaign denied having “threatened or blackmailed” DeWit, and the Arizona GOP chair resigned after audio of his conversation with Lake was leaked.

Kari Lake Scores Big Endorsement From Senate Republicans’ Campaign Arm

Kari Lake Scores Big Endorsement From Senate Republicans' Campaign Arm

Republicans

The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, an ally of former President Donald Trump, resigned on Wednesday after audio emerged this week of him offering money to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a> to stay out of the U.S. Senate race in the state. But in his statement of resignation, the now-former chairman suggested that Lake had acted nefariously.
Chairman Jeff DeWit called the secret audio recording from Lake &#8220;deceptive&#8221; and &#8220;a selectively edited audio recording of our private conversation.&#8221; He went on to suggest that Lake had &#8220;orchestrated&#8221; the exchange in an attempt to &#8220;have control over the state party.&#8221; Lake&#8217;s campaign responded in a statement to The Daily Wire by denying having &#8220;threatened or blackmailed&#8221; DeWit.
&#8220;The recording, from over ten months ago, is not only taken out of context but also undermines the integrity of private discussions critical for party leadership,&#8221; DeWit said in his <a href="https://twitter.com/AZGOP/status/1750234611890971064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1750234611890971064%7Ctwgr%5E2f09447f34146f58caec836720ffc7549589fc75%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Farizona-gop-chair-resigns-over-release-of-alleged-bribery-recording" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>, adding that at the time the recording was made, he was employing Lake at his private company.
&#8220;In fact, for over a year and a half we had many conversations where I was looking out for her financial interests,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;The ethical breach in her recording of our conversation, while Lake was my employee, raises serious legal and moral concerns. This act of recording was not just a betrayal of trust but also a violation of the fiduciary responsibilities of an employee. Contrary to accusations of bribery, my discussions were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion. Our relationship was based on friendship, and the conversation that is now being scrutinized was an open, unguarded exchange between friends in the living room of her house. I genuinely believed I was offering a helpful perspective to someone I considered a friend.&#8221;
DeWit said that ever since he advised that Lake postpone her desire for elected office for another two years so she could run again for the state&#8217;s governorship, she has &#8220;been on a mission to destroy me.&#8221;
&#8220;The release of our conversation by Lake confirms a disturbing tendency to exploit private interactions for personal gain and increases concerns about her habit of secretly recording personal and private conversations,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is obviously a concern given how much interaction she has with high profile people including President Trump. I question how effective a United States Senator can be when they cannot be trusted to engage in private and confidential conversations.&#8221;
DeWit said that he regretted some of the things that he said in the recording, but realized when he went back and listened to the tape that it was a &#8220;set up.&#8221;
&#8220;I believe she orchestrated this entire situation to have control over the state party, and it is obvious from the recording that she crafted her performance responses with the knowledge that she was recording it, intending to use this recording later to portray herself as a hero in her own story,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This morning, I was determined to fight for my position. However, a few hours ago, I received an ultimatum from Lake&#8217;s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording.&#8221;
&#8220;I am truly unsure of its contents, but considering our numerous past open conversations as friends, I have decided not to take the risk,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks, allowing me to return to the business sector&#8211;a field I find much more logical and prefer over politics.&#8221;
DeWit noted in his statement that he was a &#8220;proud supporter&#8221; of Trump and had worked as &#8220;the COO &amp; CFO of his 2016 campaign, served in his Administration for two years, and returned as the COO of the 2020 campaign.&#8221;
In response to DeWit&#8217;s satement, the Lake campaign told The Daily Wire, &#8220;The tape speaks for itself: The Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit attempted to bribe Kari Lake. Thankfully Kari is an extremely ethical person who rejected DeWit’s multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office. She will be an incredible Senator for Arizonans. No one from the Kari Lake campaign threatened or blackmailed DeWit. It is unfortunate that Dewit hasn’t recognized how unethical his behavior was and still hasn’t apologized to Arizona Republicans. DeWit’s false claims are just par for the course. The Arizona GOP must be relieved to have his resignation. Now we can focus on getting ethical leadership and win big in 2024.&#8221;

NASA Announces Plans To Expand Commercial Activities At International Space Station

AZ GOP Chair Accuses Kari Lake Of ‘Set-Up’ In Secret Recording; Lake Denies ‘Blackmail’ Accusations

AZ GOP Chair Accuses Kari Lake Of 'Set-Up' In Secret Recording; Lake Denies 'Blackmail' Accusations

Arizona Republican Party chairman Jeff DeWit resigned on Wednesday after an audio recording leaked of him allegedly offering a bribe to Kari Lake to suspend her campaign for the U.S. Senate.
DeWit faced backlash from Arizona Republicans, including from Lake herself, this week after the audio was obtained and published by the U.K.&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12996297/EXCLUSIVE-Audio-recording-reveals-moment-senior-Republican-figure-tried-bribe-Kari-Lake-not-run-Senate.html">Daily Mail</a> on Tuesday. The audio was recorded in March of last year and allegedly captured DeWit offering Lake to name a price that would convince her to suspend her Senate campaign and forgo politics for two years.
DeWit accused Lake of selectively leaking the audio and undermining the Republican Party in a statement announcing his resignation.
&#8220;In light of the recent revelation that Kari Lake has released a selectively edited audio recording of our private conversation, I must clearly address this deceptive tactic. The recording, from over ten months ago, is not only taken out of context, but also undermines the integrity of private discussions critical for party leadership,&#8221; DeWit wrote.
DeWit alleged he was &#8220;set up&#8221; and said he could not compete with Lake&#8217;s &#8220;massive megaphone.&#8221; DeWit lamented that the affair distracts from GOP efforts in 2024.
&#8220;This is all such a distraction to that mission that I am doing as Ms. Lake wishes and am stepping down as Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party,&#8221; DeWit concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Statement from Chairman <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffDeWitAZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffDeWitAZ</a> 
 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AZGOP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AZGOP</a> <a href="https://t.co/qxKd2Pqlp6">pic.twitter.com/qxKd2Pqlp6</a>
&mdash; Republican Party of Arizona (@AZGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AZGOP/status/1750234611890971064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lake, a Republican firebrand who lost a 2020 run for Arizona governor, called on DeWit to resign on Tuesday.
“[DeWit] has got to resign. We can’t have somebody who is corrupt and compromised running the Republican Party,” Lake told an NBC reporter at former President Donald Trump’s New Hampshire primary victory party on Tuesday night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kari Lake calls for <a href="https://twitter.com/AZGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AZGOP</a> Chair Jeff DeWit to resign after release of audio in which he can be heard bribing Lake to not run for the U.S. Senate in exchange for a potential job (and its salary): <a href="https://t.co/8tF4sodXf3">https://t.co/8tF4sodXf3</a> <a href="https://t.co/4XBSzoVyYL">pic.twitter.com/4XBSzoVyYL</a>
&mdash; Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) <a href="https://twitter.com/VaughnHillyard/status/1749976071611580646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Maricopa County Republican Committee chairman Craig Berland told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12996297/EXCLUSIVE-Audio-recording-reveals-moment-senior-Republican-figure-tried-bribe-Kari-Lake-not-run-Senate.html">Daily Mail</a> that DeWit should step aside if the bribery allegation against him is true.
The recording of DeWit and Lake appears to have been recorded during an in-person conversation between the two.
“So, the ask I got today from back east was: ‘Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll to keep her out?’” DeWit says, according to the recording. “Just say, is there a number at which …”
Lake interjects: “I can be bought? That’s what it’s about.”
“You can take a pause for a couple of years. You can go right back to what you&#8217;re doing,” DeWit continues.
Lake responds: “This is not about money, it’s about our country.”
At one point in the conversation, DeWit appears to attempt to explain the reasoning behind the desire for Lake to step aside for the 2024 cycle. He says the request comes down to “the ability to raise money to win.”
Lake says: “I don’t want to make a deal with these kinds of people. This is a hill worth dying on.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Explosive revelation: top Republican official caught on bombshell audio attempting to bribe Kari Lake (<a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KariLake</a>) to abandon senate run in Arizona. LISTEN<a href="https://t.co/Qw817XWJO0">pic.twitter.com/Qw817XWJO0</a>
&mdash; Simon Ateba (@simonateba) <a href="https://twitter.com/simonateba/status/1749890344181711073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
DeWit <a href="https://azgop.com/articles/introducing-your-new-chairman-1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took</a> control of the Arizona Republican Party last year. Prior to winning the election to chair the state party, he served in the Trump administration as Chief Financial Officer of NASA, receiving unanimous approval by the U.S. Senate.
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DeWit was also active in former President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. In 2016, he served as the Trump campaign&#8217;s Chief Operations Officer and Chief Financial Officer. In 2020, Dewit was a part of Trump&#8217;s re-election effort again as COO.
He won election to be state treasurer of Arizona in 2014.
&nbsp;

Jeff DeWit

Arizona GOP Chair Resigns Over Release Of Alleged Bribery Recording

Republican Party

Former GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a> announced her bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, seeking the Republican nomination in 2024.
Lake, 54, a former television anchor in Arizona for more than 20 years before entering politics, registered her Senate campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission last week.
&#8220;I am not going to retreat,&#8221; Lake <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kari-lake-launches-bid-us-senate-arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> told a crowd in Scottsdale, Arizona. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to stand on top of this hill with every single one of you. And I know you&#8217;re on my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate.&#8221;
Since leaving the media, she became one of the most outspoken supporters of former President Donald Trump. Lake spent the months leading up to her bid for Congress advocating for his 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got one year to save this country, and we&#8217;ve got to go in a different direction, people,&#8221; Lake <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/11/kari-lake-senate-announcement-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, according to Axios. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got to go away from Joe Biden.&#8221;
Trump reportedly endorsed Lake in a video played during the event.
&#8220;In the Senate, we have to have a big, strong majority to help me push our America First agenda through and to push it through really fast,&#8221; Trump said, according to Axios. &#8220;And that starts right here, tonight, by helping Kari Lake win in Arizona. She will win.&#8221;
The former journalist made election integrity a top priority of her 2022 campaign for governor, in which she narrowly lost the election of Democrat Katie Hobbs. She has yet to concede losing the race.
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Lake legally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-dismisses-final-claim-in-kari-lakes-2022-election-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">challenged</a> the election results that showed her defeat to Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes, alleging misconduct and illegal votes with issues ranging from mail-in ballots, chain-of-custody, and problematic ballot printers.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson rejected the final part in May after a failure to show the county did not properly perform signature verifications for early ballots.
Lake reportedly spent the summer traveling across 14 states, speaking to Republican organizations at the state and county levels to support candidates in other Senate races.
Her announcement follows Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who placed his bid for the Republican nomination, and businessman Brian Wright, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-ally-kari-lake-launch-us-senate-bid-arizona-2023-10-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Reuters.
One of the GOP candidates will likely face Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego and incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who became an independent last year after leaving the Democrat Party. Sinema has not confirmed if she will run in the next race.
Reports indicate the Arizona race is expected to be one of the most closely watched in the next election cycle as the state shares roughly 370 miles of its border with Mexico. The massive influx of immigration into the United States is reportedly to become one of the main topics in the Senate race.
&#8220;Our border is wide open in Arizona&#8230; there is an absolute invasion in our country,&#8221; Lake <a href="https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/hold-kari-lake-launches-bid-us-senate?utm_source=mux&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=tw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;I&#8217;m really, really worried about the same thing happening here. The cartels own Arizona, and until we kick Joe Biden to the curb, Ruben Gallego, and Krysten Sinema, we&#8217;re not gonna have a state.&#8221;
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

Kari Lake Holds Rally To Make Announcement About Her Political Future

Kari Lake Announces Bid For U.S. Senate

Former Republican gubernatorial candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a> confronted Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who she is running against for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema&#8217;s (I-AZ) seat in 2024, outside a bathroom at an airport in Phoenix this week over the immigration crisis in the state.
&#8220;Unfortunately, our border&#8217;s wide open,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You and Kyrsten have had a lot of time to do something about it. And even the Democrats are upset about it.&#8221;
Gallego said that there was &#8220;some common ground&#8221; that Democrats could work with Republicans when it came to solving the border crisis.
&#8220;The problem is we have plenty of people here right now,&#8221; Lake said. &#8220;We have millions of people here. Fentanyl has killed more young people and you have had an opportunity to vote.&#8221;
Lake praised former President Donald Trump during the conversation for the border conditions during his administration and told a passerby that Gallego wanted to &#8220;destroy our country.&#8221;
Gallego offered to go down to the border with Lake and suggested that the two set something up with local mayors.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s go down to the border together,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Let&#8217;s get the mayor&#8217;s together.&#8221;
&#8220;We have to finish the wall,&#8221; Lake responded.
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Gallego said that there should be some border wall along with various other measures to make the border more secure.
Lake said that she was not interested in working together with Gallego and that her focus was on beating him.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KariLake</a> confronts Democrat opponent on the border 
LAKE: “ I’m not working together with you, I’m going to beat you.” <a href="https://t.co/wMbC7iGF4O">pic.twitter.com/wMbC7iGF4O</a>
&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1710097797767196959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kari Lake Confronts Ruben Gallego About Border Conditions

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-ruben-gallego-announces-campaign-for-kyrsten-sinemas-senate-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ruben Gallego</a> (D-AZ) took some backlash on Wednesday after he attempted to define the &#8220;cultural identity&#8221; of Republicans during a campaign event at a church in Gilbert, Arizona.
Gallego, who has announced a run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), claimed that Republican &#8220;culture&#8221; could ultimately be boiled down to firearms and &#8220;jacked up&#8221; trucks &#8220;with some cow nuts hanging in the back.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
AZ Senate candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego: &quot;If you are a Republican, you have to have a bunch of guns, a jacked up truck with some cow nuts hanging in the back. That&#39;s your cultural identity now.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/spNYL383Qv">pic.twitter.com/spNYL383Qv</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1691975011584581727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/az-senate-candidate-claims-weapons-little-cow-nuts-trucks-define-gop-culture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Fox News Digital, Gallego was initially responding to a question from the audience about school shootings.
&#8220;School shooting-level casualties happen every day in the streets of America,&#8221; Gallego claimed, adding, &#8220;We don&#8217;t focus on trying to stop everyday gun violence because a lot of politicians are afraid of the NRA and the gun lobby.&#8221;
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&#8220;And also, even beyond the gun lobby, there is now weapons — and I don&#8217;t really call them guns. As a Marine, I call them weapons,&#8221; Gallego continued. &#8220;Weapons have now become more of a cultural thing. It&#8217;s like, if you&#8217;re a Republican, you have to have a bunch of guns, some, you know, jacked-up truck with some of those little cow nuts hanging in the back. That&#8217;s your cultural identity now.&#8221;
Critics quickly pointed out a few things wrong with Gallego&#8217;s blanket assessment — namely that cows, being female, did not *have* nuts.
Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith, a Republican, responded, &#8220;Cows don’t have nuts… but I guess this is his worldview outside Phoenix, very narrow minded and ignorant. DC will do that to ya!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Guns ✅ Jacked up truck ✅ Cow nuts on my truck ⭕️
I’m failing on my Republican credentials. Cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/JenWEsq?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JenWEsq</a> 
Cows don’t have nuts… but I guess this is his worldview outside Phoenix, very narrow minded and ignorant. DC will do that to ya! <a href="https://t.co/TkqOwXKBFm">https://t.co/TkqOwXKBFm</a>
&mdash; Rep. Austin Smith (@azaustinsmith) <a href="https://twitter.com/azaustinsmith/status/1692194548183920676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;If you’re gonna try to trash talk half the people of your state at least get the anatomy about nuts right,&#8221; GOP strategist Andrew Clark added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If you’re gonna try to trash talk half the people of your state at least get the anatomy about nuts right. <a href="https://t.co/BWz1RKC4mF">https://t.co/BWz1RKC4mF</a>
&mdash; Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewHClark/status/1692046319752532154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;And if you’re a democrat you have to have a sex change, mental illness, and drive a Prius with your own nuts hanging in the back. That’s your cultural identity now,&#8221; OutKick host Tomi Lahren <a href="https://twitter.com/TomiLahren/status/1691983626873774483" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot back</a>.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, also a Republican, added, &#8220;Look at how @RubenGallego mocks hard-working Arizonans. He thinks we&#8217;re dumb hicks for owning trucks. He wants to take away our 2nd Amendment rights. He&#8217;s weirdly obsessed with testicles. Just call us deplorables &amp; get it over with, Ruben. And stay in the swamp. It suits you.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Look at how <a href="https://twitter.com/RubenGallego?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RubenGallego</a> mocks hard-working Arizonans
He thinks we&#39;re dumb hicks for owning trucks 
He wants to take away our 2nd Amendment rights
He&#39;s weirdly obsessed with testicles
Just call us deplorables &amp; get it over with, Ruben
And stay in the swamp. It suits you. <a href="https://t.co/Ap23z4SPEA">https://t.co/Ap23z4SPEA</a>
&mdash; Kari Lake (@KariLake) <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1692036913430245531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Gallego could be headed for a tough race in 2024, however, since incumbent Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kyrsten-sinema-gearing-up-for-re-election-bid-as-an-independent-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sinema</a> is likely to remain on the general election ballot as an independent. If Gallego and Sinema split the Democratic vote, they could leave a wide opening for any solid Republican candidate.

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023

Arizona Dem Torched For Bizarre Attempt To Define Republicans: ‘Jacked Up Truck With Some Cow Nuts’

Arizona Dem Torched For Bizarre Attempt To Define Republicans: 'Jacked Up Truck With Some Cow Nuts'

Democrats

Senate

A judge in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a> rejected the final part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a>&#8216;s legal challenge of her 2022 governor&#8217;s race defeat on Monday.
Lake&#8217;s team failed to show that Maricopa County, which includes the capital of Phoenix and is Arizona&#8217;s most populous county, did not properly perform signature verifications for early ballots, <a href="https://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/5187/638203827030806202" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the ruling</a> determined.
The court did not find &#8220;clear and convincing evidence or a preponderance of evidence&#8221; of misconduct in violation of the law and sufficient to overturn the results of the contest, wrote Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.
Thompson&#8217;s ruling also contained an order that said it was &#8220;confirming&#8221; the election of Democrat Katie Hobbs as the governor.
Lake&#8217;s team <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom/status/1659665768391528451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued during the trial</a> that signatures were reviewed so quickly — many in less than two or three seconds — that the process could not meet the legal standard. The Republican <a href="https://twitter.com/Garrett_Archer/status/1660832820644782080" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may yet appeal the decision</a>. On Twitter, Lake posted <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1660856338400915457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a GIF</a> saying, &#8220;FIX THIS BROKEN SYSTEM,&#8221; and <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1660851611340529666" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> about a &#8220;big announcement&#8221; on Tuesday.
A former journalist who made election integrity a top priority of her campaign, Lake sued after the results showed that she lost the November contest to Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes in the governor&#8217;s race. Hobbs was sworn in as governor in early January, and in the months since the November election, media reports have said Lake is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/kari-lake-is-considering-senate-run-making-some-republicans-nervous-85a80081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mulling a Senate bid</a> and former President Donald Trump is considering her as a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/07/trump-kari-lake-vice-president-candidates-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">possible vice presidential running mate</a>.
Lake&#8217;s 2022 election complaint raised allegations of misconduct and illegal votes with issues ranging from mail-in ballots, chain-of-custody, and problematic ballot printers. In March, Arizona&#8217;s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-supreme-court-gives-kari-lakes-signature-verification-claim-a-shot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent the last-remaining claim</a> regarding signature verification back to the trial court, where Thompson <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/24/kari-lake-loses-lawsuit-over-her-defeat-in-arizona-governors-race.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously threw out</a> Lake’s challenge.
Maricopa County officials have <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maricopa-county-arizona-officials-apologize-vote-tabulator-problems-say-7-ballots-affected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> issues with the 2022 election but insisted <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2023/02/17/appeals-court-denies-kari-lakes-election-contest-2022-election/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">every valid vote</a> in the contest had been counted.
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&#8220;Wild claims of rigged elections may generate media attention and fundraising pleas, but they do not win court cases,&#8221; Maricopa County Chairman Clint Hickman said in a <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZMARIC/bulletins/35c0661" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> responding to Thompson&#8217;s ruling on Monday.
&#8220;When &#8216;bombshells&#8217; and &#8216;smoking guns&#8217; are not backed up by facts, they fail in court.  This is justice, and this is what happened today in Kari Lake’s election contest,&#8221; he added.

Judge Dismisses Final Claim In Kari Lake’s 2022 Election Challenge

Judge Dismisses Final Claim In Kari Lake's 2022 Election Challenge

2020 Election

Election Fraud

Arizona&#8217;s Supreme Court sent part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a>&#8216;s appeal of her 2022 governor&#8217;s race defeat back to a trial court for review while refusing to hear the rest of the claims.
The remaining piece of the legal challenge concerns how Maricopa County, which includes the capital of Phoenix and is Arizona&#8217;s most populous county, performed signature verifications for early ballots.
<a href="https://twitter.com/jeremyduda/status/1638706398493306883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An order</a> from the high court late Wednesday said the superior court and Arizona Court of Appeals made an &#8220;erroneous&#8221; decision to reject the claim because of their focus on election procedures rather than the application of those procedures in last November&#8217;s contest as cited in Lake&#8217;s claim. Lake now faces the challenge of establishing that mail-in votes were affected &#8220;in sufficient numbers to alter the outcome&#8221; of last November&#8217;s election.
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My statement on the Arizona Supreme Court ruling in favor of our case ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/pxo8j0Ubs2">pic.twitter.com/pxo8j0Ubs2</a>
&mdash; Kari Lake (@KariLake) <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1638971176088387584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I am thrilled that the Supreme Court has agreed to give our signature verification evidence the appropriate forum for the evaluation it deserves,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1638971176088387584" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lake said in a statement</a>.
The Arizona Supreme Court order, signed by Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, also called on Lake&#8217;s team to file a reply to the defendants&#8217; motions for sanctions in regard to the assertion of there being &#8220;the undisputed fact that 35,563 unaccounted for ballots were added to the total of ballots at a third party facility.”
The order said the &#8220;record does not reflect&#8221; such a claim and noted the motions of sanctions &#8220;will be considered in due course.&#8221;
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The AZ Supreme Court is refusing to hear 6 of 7 claims brought by <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KariLake</a> regarding her loss to <a href="https://twitter.com/katiehobbs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katiehobbs</a>, and is reminding a 7th, which alleges Maricopa County violated signature verification procedures for early ballots, back to trial court. <a href="https://t.co/bB8K0CQ8ns">pic.twitter.com/bB8K0CQ8ns</a>
&mdash; Jeremy Duda (@jeremyduda) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremyduda/status/1638706398493306883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Lake, a former journalist who made election integrity a top priority of her campaign, sued after the results showed that she lost the November contest to Democrat Katie Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes in the governor&#8217;s race. Hobbs was sworn in as governor in early January.
Lake&#8217;s 2022 election complaint raised allegations of misconduct and illegal votes with issues ranging from mail-in ballots, chain-of-custody, and problematic ballot printers. Maricopa County officials <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maricopa-county-arizona-officials-apologize-vote-tabulator-problems-say-7-ballots-affected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> issues with the election, but insisted <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2023/02/17/appeals-court-denies-kari-lakes-election-contest-2022-election/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">every valid vote</a> in the contest had been counted.
After Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/24/kari-lake-loses-lawsuit-over-her-defeat-in-arizona-governors-race.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threw out Lake&#8217;s challenge</a>, the appellate rejected the case in February, <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2023/02/16/kari-lake-loses-election-challenge-appeal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writing</a> that voters were &#8220;able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the election results.&#8221;
Throughout, Lake said she would not give in, vowing to take her case to the high court.
Two other Republican candidates, <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/abe-hamadeh-arizona-judge-rules-against-gop-attorney-general-candidate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abe Hamadeh</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/finchem-lawsuit-sanctions-2022-election-arizona-7e7567bdbe90f4c4ab6d4567a128bd0f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Finchem</a>, who ran for attorney general and secretary of state, respectively, also received unfavorable rulings in their legal challenges seeking to challenge their losses.
In the months since the November election, media reports have said Lake is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/kari-lake-is-considering-senate-run-making-some-republicans-nervous-85a80081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mulling a Senate bid</a> and former President Donald Trump is considering her as a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/07/trump-kari-lake-vice-president-candidates-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">possible vice presidential running mate</a>.

Arizona Supreme Court Gives Kari Lake’s Signature Verification Claim A Shot

Arizona Supreme Court Gives Kari Lake's Signature Verification Claim A Shot

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