“I received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: Resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording,” says Jeff DeWit.
Arizona Republican Chair Jeff DeWit resigned on Wednesday in the wake of damning audio revealing him trying to bribe the state’s GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake to stay out of politics.
In the recording, DeWit can be heard explaining to Lake that “very powerful people” in Washington are willing to pay a high price to keep her from running for office for two years.
DeWit defended his bribe proposal in a statement and claimed Lake presented him with an ultimatum: resign or prepare for the release of an even more “damaging” recording.
“It was a suggestion made in good faith, believing it could benefit both her future prospects and the party’s overall strategy,” DeWit said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Statement from Chairman @JeffDeWitAZ
#AZGOP pic.twitter.com/qxKd2Pqlp6
— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) January 24, 2024
“This morning I was determined to fight for my position,” he said. “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.”
“I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks, allowing me to return to the business sector-—a field I find much more logical and prefer over politics,” DeWit continued in the letter.
DeWit went on to accuse Lake of setting him up in an effort to seize “control over the state party.”
“I said things I regret, but I realize when hearing Lake’s recording that I was set up,” DeWit said in his letter. “I believe she orchestrated this entire situation to have control over the state party, and it is obvious from the recording that she crafted her performance responses with the knowledge that she was recording it, intending to use this recording later to portray herself as a hero in her own story.”
Following the release of the audio on Tuesday, Lake called on DeWit to resign as AZ GOP chairman.
“He’s gotta resign,” Lake said at Trump’s New Hampshire primary victory party Tuesday night. “We can’t have somebody who is corrupt and compromised running the Republican Party.”
Kari Lake calls for @AZGOP Chair Jeff DeWit to resign after release of audio in which he can be heard bribing Lake to not run for the U.S. Senate in exchange for a potential job (and its salary): https://t.co/8tF4sodXf3 pic.twitter.com/4XBSzoVyYL
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) January 24, 2024
The 10-minute audio from March 2023 leaked on Tuesday shows DeWit making offers to Lake in exchange for her ceasing her plans to run for Senate.
“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” he tells her in a conversation recorded in March 2023. “But they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is in a big way.”
Lake said these “corrupt” people in question are going to “try to have me murdered.”
“It’s about being on the team. They want you to be on their team,” DeWit argued.
“But if they’re pushing a globalist agenda, I can’t do that,” Lake replied.
“This is about defeating Trump and I think that’s a bad, bad thing for our country,” she went on. “If they’re going to steal the election to make me and our movement go away, I’m not letting them do that.”
DeWit repeatedly asked Lake not to repeat the conversation to anyone, claiming he could be murdered if it was exposed.
Lake announced Wednesday on X that she’ll be hosting a Q&A over the bribe scandal on Rumble tonight at 7PM CST.
I am getting a lot of questions about the bribery scandal & corruption in DC.
I have decided to go LIVE on Rumble tonight at 8:00 ET (6:00 AZ time) to answer your questions.
I hope you’ll join me! ♥️
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) January 24, 2024
