Judge Makes a Decision on Kari Lake Sanctions

An Arizona judge declined to sanction Kari Lake, but he did order her to pay Katie Hobbs $33,040.50 in compensation for expert witness fees. The judge also reaffirmed Hobbs' election as the next governor of the state; Hobbs had asked for Lake to be sanctioned over her filing of a (failed) lawsuit challenging the election results. The judge, however, found found no clear evidence of any legal ethics violations in Lake's filing, which is why she was not sanctioned, CNN reports.

Meanwhile, Lake still isn't done fighting the results of the gubernatorial election. She's appealing the Maricopa County judge's dismissal of her lawsuit; he dismissed eight counts before the suit ever made it to trial and then also dismissed the final two counts after a two-day trial. Lake filed a notice of appeal in Arizona's Superior Court Tuesday, and said she will "seek direct review" by the state's Supreme Court, the Hill reports. "I am standing up for the people of this state, the people who were done wrong on Election Day and the millions of people who live outside of Maricopa County, whose vote was watered down by this bogus election in Maricopa County,” Lake said on Steve Bannon's podcast of her appeal. (More Kari Lake stories.)