Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit resigned Wednesday after explosive audio emerged of him apparently trying to convince Kari Lake not to seek the Republican Senate nomination this year.
In a sentenceDeWit, 51, said he chose to resign rather than fight for his job after Lake’s team threatened to release a “more damaging recording.”
The audio, which was recorded in March last year, was published by the Daily Mail on Tuesday.
“I said things I regret, but when I heard Lake’s recording I realized I had been set up,” DeWit said.
“I believe that she orchestrated this entire situation to have control over the state party, and it is obvious from the recording that she crafted her acting responses knowing that she was recording them, with the intention of using this recording later to portray herself.” herself as a heroine. in her own history.”
Lake’s campaign denied allegations that anyone on his team “threatened or blackmailed DeWit.”
Jeff DeWit accused Kari Lake of treason. fake images
“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” DeWit pleaded in the audio, according to The Daily Mail. “So the question I got today from the East was: ‘Is there any company out there or anything that can just put her on the payroll? to keep her out?’”
Lake, who appeared upset and ran unsuccessfully for governor of Arizona in 2022, responded: “This is about defeating Trump and I think that’s very, very bad for our country.”
“Is there a number where…” DeWit later began.
“Can you buy me? That’s what it’s all about,” Lake chimed in.
Kari Lake is the favorite in the Republican primary for the Arizona Senate. AP
DeWit then suggested Lake “take a break for a couple of years” and then return to politics. Lake rejected that notion, saying, “This isn’t about money, it’s about our country.”
After the audio emerged, Lake, who attended Trump’s New Hampshire primary victory party in Nashua on Tuesday night, confirmed the contents of the tape and demanded that DeWit resign.
“I want to eradicate corruption from our government. I don’t care if it’s on the Democratic side or the Republican side: we’re going to root out corruption,” Lake told Just the News.
Lake has disputed her loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in the 2022 gubernatorial election, but courts have rejected her claims of a stolen vote.
His Senate campaign said in a statement that “the tape speaks for itself” and “DeWit attempted to bribe Kari Lake.”
“Fortunately, Kari is an extremely ethical person who rejected DeWit’s multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office,” the campaign said in a statement obtained by The Post.
“It is unfortunate that Dewit has not acknowledged how unethical his behavior was and has yet to apologize to Arizona Republicans.”
Lake, a former television news anchor, enters the Senate race as the clear GOP front-runner and the state party’s most powerful figure.
Arizona, once considered a solid red state, has trended purple in recent election cycles. Aside from Hobbs’ victory over Lake in 2022, the Grand Canyon State has not elected a Republican senator since the late John McCain in 2016.
In the 2020 presidential election, Arizona went for the Democratic candidate for the second time since 1952.
Kari Lake has openly supported Donald Trump. AP
DeWit also denounced the release of the audio as a “betrayal of trust but also a violation of an employee’s fiduciary responsibilities.”
At the time of recording, DeWit’s software company, Superfeed Technologies, was paying Lake as a consultant.
“Contrary to the notion that I am a Lake hater, this conversation was recorded while I was working with Lake at my private company. In fact, for over a year and a half, we had many conversations in which I looked out for his financial interests,” DeWit said Wednesday.
“Unlike the bribery allegations, my conversations were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion,” he continued. “I truly believed I was offering a useful perspective to someone I considered a friend.”
DeWit is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, serving as chairman of the 77-year-old’s 2016 campaign in Arizona, chief financial officer of NASA from 2018 to early 2020, and chief operating officer of Trump’s 2020 campaign.
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