Arizona GOP Chairman Resigns, Tears Into Kari Lake Over ‘Selectively Edited’ Tape of Him Trying to Push Her Out of Senate Race

Phillip NietoJan 24th, 2024, 4:19 pm
 

AP Photo/Alex Brando

Jeff DeWit, the chair of the Arizona Republican Party, announced Wednesday is resigning after a leaked audio tape showed him trying push Kari Lake out of the upcoming U.S. Senate race.

DeWit also hammered Lake for the “selectively edited” tape, claiming she has been “on a mission to destroy” him since the conversation took place. He also claimed he chose to resign because members of Lake’s team have allegedly threatened to release more tapes if he did not step down.

The audio recording, which was first reported The Daily Mail, showed DeWit imploring Lake not to run for the Senate. Lake, who lost the governor’s race in the 2022 midterm election, told DeWit she would not leave the Senate race for a billion dollars.

“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” DeWit reportedly told Lake before adding that the individuals were from the “east.”

“Just say, is there a number at which,” DeWit told Lake before she interrupted by responding, “I can be bought? That’s what it’s about.”

DeWit added “You can take a pause for a couple of years…You can go right back to what you’re doing.”

In his resignation statement, DeWit claimed that the call with Lake was not a bribe and hammered her for orchestrating “this entire situation” to take “control over the state party.”

“Contrary to accusations of bribery, my discussions were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion,” DeWit wrote in a statement. “Our relationship was based on friendship, and the conversation that is now being scrutinized was open, unguarded exchange between friends in the living room of her house. I genuinely believed I was offering a helpful perspective to someone I considered a friend,”

He also went on to claim that Lake’s team threatened to release more tapes unless he resigned today.

“However, a few hours ago, I received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording,” DeWit claimed. “I am truly unsure of its contents, but considering our numerous past open conversations as friends, I have decided not to take the risk.”

Since January 2023, DeWit served as the state party chair. In the past, DeWit’s prior jobs included working as the chief operating officer for Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaign.

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