Jeff DeWit, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, has resigned from his position after a leaked recording revealed he offered Kari Lake a bribe not to run for U.S. Senate.

In his resignation, DeWit accused Lake of setting him up by releasing a “selectively edited audio recording of our private conversation.”

DeWit also said he received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: “resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording.”

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In the recording, DeWit can be heard explaining that powerful people would offer Lake a job or money if she sits out of politics this election cycle.

Here’s the audio:

Lake previously went public about allegedly receiving a bribe offer to step away from politics for two years.

Daily Mail reports:

The leaked audio, from a conversation in early March, 2023, sent shockwaves through Republican circles.

A day earlier, Lake, 54, had demanded his resignation. As she arrived at Donald Trump’s campaign party in Nashua, New Hampshire, she told DailyMail.com that the American people had had enough.

‘The truth is all coming out now,’ she said.

At the time of their conversation in March last year, Lake was known to be weighing a run for Senate. Days after DeWit’s approach she went public with her allegations that powerful forces tried to stop her running but never revealed who was behind it.

On Monday, Arizona talk show host Garret Lewis named DeWit, who was elected chairman of the party in January last year.

Audio obtained by DailyMail.com revealed how he made his offer at her home in early March last year.

‘There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,’ he can be heard saying.

Later in the 10-minute recording he asks her for ‘a number’ and floats the idea of finding her a job that would keep her busy for two years.

At the time, Lake was known to be mulling a run for the Senate.

In his resignation statement DeWit claimed he simply suggested postponing her campaign for two years in order to run for governor again.

‘It was a suggestion made in good faith, believing it could benefit both her future prospects and the party’s overall strategy,’ he said.

He admitted he ‘said things I regret’ but accused Lake of ‘deceptive tactics’ and of releasing a ‘selectively edited’ audio recording.

‘The recording, from over ten months ago, is not only taken out of context but also undermines the integrity of private discussions critical for party leadership,’ he said.

 

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