Most Talked-About Controversies Linked to Kari Lake

Controversies are a part of history. Explore the biggest scandals linked to Kari Lake.

Kari Lake is an American political figure and former television news anchor. She served as the special advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media starting in 2025. Lake was the Republican Party nominee for the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election and the 2024 United States Senate election in Arizona, but was unsuccessful in both bids.

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Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

2017: Facebook Post

Nine days before the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, Lake had posted a meme on Facebook that declared the inauguration a "national day of mourning and protest", in which she asked her followers how they would react to Trump's inauguration.

2018: Opposed Red for Ed Movement

In 2018, Kari Lake opposed the Red for Ed movement, claiming it was a "big push to legalize pot," and later apologized.

July 2019: Promoted Parler account

In July 2019, Kari Lake was caught on "hot mic" footage promoting her account on the web platform Parler.

April 2020: Shared COVID-19 Misinformation

In April 2020, Kari Lake shared COVID-19 misinformation on Twitter and Facebook.

2020: Election fraud claims

During Kari Lake's candidacy Trump endorsed her, as did pro-Trump Republican figures. She attended events headed by My Pillow founder Mike Lindell, a prominent promoter of false claims regarding fraud in the 2020 election.

2020: Promoted False Election Claims

In 2020, Kari Lake promoted false claims that Trump won the presidential election.

2020: Voter signatures posted from 2020 election

In January 2023, Lake posted on Twitter 16 voter signatures, mostly from 2020, suggesting that these were from illegal ballots because the signatures did not match.

2020: Disputed Biden's Vote Count

Kari Lake claimed President Joe Biden did not receive 81 million votes and that Arizona was actually won by Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

2020: Claimed Election Was Stolen

Throughout her campaign, Kari Lake had been a leading proponent of the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" from Trump.

August 2021: Led Anti-Mask Rallies

In August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kari Lake led anti-mask rallies and called on Arizona State University students to go against the university's mask mandates.

November 2021: Took Hydroxychloroquine

In November 2021, Kari Lake told a group of Republican retirees that she was taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19 infection.

2021: Demanded Election Decertification

After the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit found no evidence of election fraud, Kari Lake demanded the election be "decertified."

2021: Campaign Endorsements and Election Claims

During her 2021 campaign for governor, Kari Lake said that she would not have certified Biden's 2020 election victory in Arizona if she had been governor at the time.

April 2022: Lake and Finchem Sue State Officials to Ban Electronic Voting Machines

In April 2022, Lake and Mark Finchem sued state officials, seeking to ban electronic voting machines from being used in her 2022 election.

June 2022: Baseless Election Claims

During a June 2022 debate among candidates for the Republican nomination, Kari Lake continued to make baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" and "corrupt".

July 2022: Facebook Post Controversy

In July 2022, Fox News reported that nine days before the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, Kari Lake had posted a meme on Facebook that declared the inauguration a "national day of mourning and protest".

August 2022: Lawsuit to Ban Electronic Voting Machines Dismissed

In August 2022, U.S. District Judge John Tuchi dismissed the suit filed by Lake and Finchem, writing that they lacked standing.

October 2022: Appeal to Ban Electronic Voting Machines Rejected

In October 2022, Finchem and Lake's appeal, aimed at banning electronic voting machines, was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

October 2022: Refused to Commit to Accepting Election Result

In October 2022, Kari Lake twice refused to say that she would accept the result if she lost the election, stating, "I'm going to win the election, and I will accept that result."

November 7, 2022: Report of Suspicious White Powder

On November 7, 2022, Kari Lake's campaign stated that on November 6, a campaign staffer opened an envelope delivered to their office that contained suspicious white powder.

December 9, 2022: Lake Files Suit Seeking to Overturn Election Results

On December 9, 2022, after Arizona certified the election results, Lake filed a new suit in state court, seeking a court order to either overturn Hobbs' victory and declare Lake as the winner of the election, or redo the election in Maricopa County.

December 2022: Lake's Lawyers Sanctioned for False Assertions in Lawsuit

In December 2022, Judge Tuchi sanctioned Lake's lawyers, including Alan Dershowitz, for making false, misleading, and unsupported assertions during the case, and ordered the plaintiffs to pay the defendants' attorney fees for roughly $122,000.

December 2022: Lake Self-Identifies as "Proud Election Denying Deplorable"

In December 2022, Lake self-identified as a "proud election denying deplorable."

2022: Independent Investigation into 2022 Election's Printing Problems

In April 2023, an independent investigation into the 2022 election's printing problems was published; the investigation was led by a retired chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Ruth McGregor, who concluded that "the primary cause of the election day failures was equipment failure".

2022: Lake Questioned About 2022 Election Claims

In February 2024, Lake was questioned about her claims about the 2022 gubernatorial election, to which she replied: "I don't know who exactly stole the election, but there are a lot of people who are running elections poorly, and we've seen the results."

2022: False claim about 2022 Arizona elections

In January 2023, Lake posted a false claim that almost 250,000 voting attempts failed during the 2022 Arizona elections, without proving that the votes were not counted.

2022: Richer Sues Lake for Defamation Over 2022 Election Claims

In June 2023, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sued Lake for defamation, alleging that Lake had defamed him by repeatedly accusing him of intentionally sabotaging the 2022 election by printing wrong-sized ballots and injecting 300,000 illegal votes into the Maricopa County vote count.

2022: Lake Appeals to Arizona Supreme Court

In November 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear Lake's appeal, ensuring that the lower courts' rulings were maintained, which ended Lake's legal challenge against the 2022 result regarding her loss to Hobbs in 2022.

January 2023: Analysis of Election Data by Audit Guys

In January 2023, an analysis by the Audit Guys found that over 33,000 Republican voters in Maricopa County voted for Hobbs instead of Lake, and nearly 6,000 Republican leaning voters did not vote in the gubernatorial election or wrote in another candidate instead of Lake. The analysis also found that Lake received fewer than 6,000 votes from Democrat-leaning voters in Maricopa County.

January 2023: Lake Posts Voter Signatures on Twitter

Later in January 2023, Lake posted 16 voter signatures on Twitter, mostly from 2020, suggesting that these were from illegal ballots. She also posted a false claim that almost 250,000 voting attempts failed during the 2022 Arizona elections.

January 2023: Arizona Mirror Finds Little Funds Raised by Lake Paid to Lawyers

The Arizona Mirror found in January 2023 that less than 10% of the funds raised by Lake after the election were paid to lawyers, despite Lake claiming that the funds were meant for contesting election results.

February 2023: Comments on Election Fairness

In February 2023, Kari Lake expressed her belief that Republicans would hold numerous positions if elections were fair.

February 2023: Associated Press Survey of Arizona Voters

In February 2023, the Associated Press reported that a survey of over 3,200 voters estimated that 11% of Arizona Republicans voted for Hobbs, while 4% of Arizona Democrats voted for Lake.

February 16, 2023: Lake's Appeal Rejected by Arizona Court of Appeals

On February 16, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals unanimously rejected Lake's appeal.

March 2023: Lake and DeWit Conversation

In March 2023, a recording of a conversation between Kari Lake and Jeff DeWit was published, where DeWit suggested Lake pause her political aspirations in exchange for financial incentives from powerful people.

March 22, 2023: Arizona Supreme Court Denies Lake's Request to Hear Lawsuit

On March 22, 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court denied Lake's request to hear her lawsuit, ruling that the lower courts had correctly dismissed six of Lake's seven legal claims and remanded the remaining claim to the trial court.

April 2023: Lake Sues Maricopa County Recorder

In April 2023, Kari Lake initiated a lawsuit against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, seeking the release of 1.3 million ballot affidavit envelopes, which contained voters' signatures, names, addresses, and phone numbers.

April 2023: Publication of Independent Investigation into 2022 Election Problems

In April 2023, the results of an independent investigation into the 2022 election's printing problems were published. The investigation concluded that the primary cause was equipment failure.

May 2023: Arizona Supreme Court Sanctions Lake's Lawyers

In May 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court imposed a $2,000 fine on Lake's lawyers for making false factual statements to the Court.

May 22, 2023: Judge Rules Against Lake in Remaining Claim

On May 22, 2023, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled against Lake for her remaining claim, re-affirming Hobbs' election.

June 2023: Stephen Richer Sues Lake for Defamation

In June 2023, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sued Lake for defamation, alleging that she repeatedly accused him of sabotaging the 2022 election.

July 2023: Arizona Supreme Court Denies Lake's Motion

In July 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court denied Lake's motion to appeal directly to them, citing "no good cause" for Lake to skip appealing to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

September 2023: Maricopa County Trial

In September 2023, the trial for Kari Lake's lawsuit against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer took place.

November 2023: Court Rules Against Lake

In November 2023, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah ruled against Kari Lake, stating that releasing voters' personal information would bring a significant risk of voter fraud, harassment, and identity theft, potentially discouraging voting.

December 2023: Lake's Motion to Dismiss Defamation Suit Denied

In December 2023, a Maricopa County judge denied Lake's motion to dismiss the defamation suit, ruling that her statements were not rhetorical hyperbole.

January 2024: Lake Calls for DeWit's Resignation

In January 2024, Kari Lake publicly called for Arizona Republican Party chair Jeff DeWit to resign, accusing him of being corrupt. DeWit resigned a day later.

February 2024: Lake Questioned About 2022 Election Claims

In February 2024, Lake was questioned about her claims about the 2022 gubernatorial election, replying that she didn't know who stole the election, but that many people were running elections poorly.

March 2024: Appeal to Supreme Court

In March 2024, Finchem and Lake appealed to the United States Supreme Court, seeking to ban electronic voting machines.

March 2024: Lake Abandons Appeal

In March 2024, Kari Lake decided to abandon her appeal of Judge Hannah's ruling in the Maricopa County ballot affidavit case.

March 2024: Lake Requests Hearing for Default Judgment Against Herself

In March 2024, Lake requested a hearing for a default judgment against herself in the defamation case, deciding not to contest the defamation claim.

April 2024: Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit

In April 2024, the United States Supreme Court rejected Finchem and Lake's lawsuit, which aimed to ban electronic voting machines.

June 2024: Ninth Circuit Denies Appeal

In June 2024, Finchem and Lake appealed again to the Ninth Circuit, which tersely denied the appeal to ban electronic voting machines.

June 2024: Lake's Appeal Rejected by Arizona Court of Appeals

Lake's appeal was rejected by the Arizona Court of Appeals in June 2024, with Judge Sean Brearcliffe stating that Lake had claimed "8,000 uncounted votes", but this could not overcome her loss margin of over 17,000 votes to Hobbs, and while Lake claimed she had new evidence to present, Brearcliffe found that she already possessed the evidence previously, but did not "analyze" it.

July 2024: Lake Appeals to Arizona Supreme Court

In July 2024, Lake appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court regarding her loss to Hobbs in the 2022 election.

November 2024: Arizona Supreme Court Declines to Hear Lake's Appeal

In November 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear Lake's appeal, ensuring that the lower courts' rulings were maintained, which ended Lake's legal challenge against the 2022 result.

November 2024: Settlement in Defamation Case

In November 2024, the court stated that Lake and Richer had settled the defamation case.

2024: Lake's Appeal Rejected in Defamation Case

In 2024, the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court both rejected Lake's appeal, clearing the way for a trial in the defamation case with Stephen Richer.