- Last year Kari Lake claimed she had been offered a bribe to get out politics
- On Tuesday, DailyMail.com published audio of the meeting at her home
- Hours later, Lake demanded the resignation of Jeff DeWit as state party chair
BREAKING: Arizona Republican Party chair Jeff DeWit caught on secret recording trying to bribe Kari Lake not to run for the Senate.
Holy s***!
"There are very powerful people who want to keep you out," he said.
At one point during the secret recording, Lake was asked to name… pic.twitter.com/9r1DoDzITD
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 23, 2024
On March 4, 2023 at CPAC
Kari Lake told the world that Somebody Showed up at Her Door trying to Bribe Her out of Politics – at the Request of Powerful People back East
We now know can conclude that person was the AZ Rep Party Chair Jeff DeWit.
— ScottFree1957 (@ScottFreeforme) January 24, 2024
Kari Lake on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Arizona Republican Party chair Jeff DeWit after DailyMail.com published audio of the moment last year when he appeared to try to bribe her not to run for the U.S. Senate.
In it, he can be heard explaining that powerful people would offer her a job or money if she sits out of politics for two years.
As she arrived at Donald Trump‘s campaign party in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Tuesday evening, she told DailyMail.com that the American people had had enough.
‘The people are rising up and saying, no, we want our country back,’ she said.
‘We want our government back and we will no longer put up with one more ounce of corruption. And the truth is all coming out now.’
When asked if he should now resign, she said: ‘I believe he should.’
DeWit and his office have not responded to multiple requests for comment, but local party officials have demanded he leave his post.
Lake had previously discussed the extraordinary effort to keep her out of the race, 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.
DeWit tells Lake, 54, one of the most public faces of the former president’s MAGA movement and a woman frequently spoken of as a 2024 vice-presidential pick, that he thinks Trump will lose and it is time to make way for someone else.
After asking her not to mention the conversation to anyone, he makes his first offer.
‘So the ask I got today from back east was: “Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll to keep her out?’
Lake reacts with indignation.
‘This is about defeating Trump and I think that’s a bad, bad thing for our country,’ she said.
At the time of their conversation, Lake was publicly mulling a run for the U.S. Senate.
And the episode reveals the tensions triggered after she refused to accept defeat in the 2022 Arizona governor race.
She emerged as a national figure, becoming a regular on Fox News as she echoed Trump’s election denialism. That put her at odds with the more traditional wing of the Republican Party who feared a new breed of Trump loyalist may alienate big donors.
In October, she announced her run.
The new 10-minute audio clip includes DeWit asking for secrecy.
‘If you say no, its fine, it’s your choice, don’t tell people,’ he tells Lake.
Later he sets out the rationale behind the offer.
‘I think what it really comes down to for a lot of people, it’s not about like control or agenda,’ he says. ‘It’s about the ability to raise money to win.’
Lake sticks to her guns.
‘I don’t want to make a deal with these kinds of people. This is a hill worth dying on,’ she said.
‘I’m not … if they’re gonna steal the election to make me and our movement go away. I’m not letting them do that.
‘I owe it to the people of Arizona to carry their torch and voice.’
