Kari Lake’s lawyers hit with bar complaints

The article reports that lawyers representing Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, have filed complaints with the State Bar against five attorneys who they say tried to interfere with Lake’s campaign by making “false and defamatory statements” about her.

The complaints allege that the attorneys violated professional conduct rules and should be disciplined. The lawyers for the accused attorneys deny the allegations and say they were exercising their First Amendment rights to express their opinions about a candidate for public office. Lake, a former news anchor, has been criticized for her controversial statements and positions on various issues.

A legal group plans to file bar complaints Thursday against four lawyers representing Kari Lake in voter fraud litigation, NBC News has learned.

Lake, a Donald Trump acolyte who has refused to accept that she lost the governor’s race in Arizona last year, campaigned on the voter fraud claims first popularized by the former president. She filed lawsuits before and after the election advancing the claims, despite having no clear evidence of election fraud.

A federal judge has already sanctioned her lawyers for their efforts, but they could face suspensions or even disbarment.

The 65 Project, a group targeting attorneys who advance spurious election fraud claims in court, said they are filing bar complaints in Minnesota and Maryland against attorneys Jesse Kibort, Joseph Pull and Andrew Parker, who are licensed to practice law in Minnesota, and Kurt Olsen, who is licensed in Maryland. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The four lawyers represented Lake and Mark Finchem, then a Republican candidate for secretary of state in Arizona, in a lawsuit first filed in April challenging the use of electronic voting machines.