Kari Lake's legal team withdraws from Stephen Richter's defamation suit.

Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake's legal team opted to withdraw from a defamation case against her on Tuesday, abstaining from contesting the accusations of defaming a state election worker following the 2022 election.

Last year, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) sued Lake personally, alleging defamation after she declined to concede defeat in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race and made claims of election fraud.

The lawsuit asserts that Lake consistently and systematically made false statements about Richer's actions as recorder, leading to him receiving harassment and numerous threats to his life. Richer also stated that Lake falsely alleged, without evidence, that he had tampered with ballot boxes containing 300,000 invalid votes and had utilized his role as recorder to obscure the ballot for voters. “For the last seven months, I have been subjected to constant harassment, intimidation, and threats to my and my family’s lives because the defendants in this case were spreading falsehoods about me, my work, and our elections,” Richer said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed last year.

In the court filing on Tuesday, there was no challenge to Richer's claims, and there was a request for an expedited hearing to determine damages.

Richer regarded the filing as an acknowledgment of guilt. However, Lake dismissed it as a refusal to engage in what she labeled a "political witch hunt" and a "frivolous" lawsuit, refusing to admit wrongdoing. “By participating in this lawsuit, it would only serve to legitimize this perversion of our legal system and allow bad actors to interfere in our upcoming election,” she continued. “So I won’t be taking part.”

Lake is currently in a competitive race against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). Gallego holds a slight lead over Lake in early polls, although the race is considered a crucial battleground for both parties in the struggle for Senate control.