A high-powered Democratic attorney who became a big name in the Trump-Russia controversy may get a hefty paycheck for battling Kari Lake in her recently tossed 2022 election lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of last month’s governor’s race.
Arizona Governor-elect Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County filed motions on Monday for sanctions against Lake and her attorneys, which may amount to nearly $700,000 in penalties to cover the attorneys’ fees and costs, according to an estimate from the AZ Law blog. Most of that money could go toward Marc Elias, who is well known as the lawyer who directed funding from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and Democratic National Committee that went toward British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s now-discredited anti-Trump dossier.
Hobbs filed motions in her capacity as Arizona’s secretary of state, the top elections position in the state, and candidate. In the latter, she declared $56,585 in “definite” fees and expenses for last week’s trial, of which $35,762.50 is for Elias’ firm, the Elias Law Group. Another $20,822.50 was listed for the Perkins Coie law firm, which happens to be Elias’ former employer during the 2016 election.
The filing also describes estimated fees “for additional legal services in connection with the election contest,” earmarking about $457,032.50 for the Elias Law Group and $93,177.50 for Perkins Coie.
Lake, a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump, sued Hobbs and Maricopa County after the results showed that she lost the November contest to Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes.
via joemiller