The chairman said he was ’set up’ by Ms. Lake’s team. Ms. Lake’s campaign denies his claims.
The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party said he resigned from his role on Jan. 23 after a recording of him was leaked that apparently showed him offering U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake money to stay out of that race.
In his resignation statement, Jeff DeWit suggested that Ms. Lake’s team allegedly secretly recorded their conversation before leaking it to the media. He also accused her team of threatening to release more recordings, which he described as being taken out of context, although he provided few details.
“I said things I regret, but I realize when hearing Lake’s recording that I was set up,” Mr. DeWit said in a statement. “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.”
He said the recording and release of the audio was tantamount to a “deceptive tactic” and said it was a “selectively edited audio recording.”
“This is all such a distraction to that mission that I am doing as Ms. Lake wishes and am stepping down as Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party,” he said.
Going further, Mr. DeWit said his relationship with Ms. Lake was “based on friendship” and the “conversation that is now being scrutinized was an open, unguarded exchange between friends in the living room of her house,” according to the statement.
“I genuinely believed I was offering a helpful perspective to someone I considered a friend,” he said.
“I received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording. I am truly unsure of its contents, but considering our numerous past open conversations as friends, I have decided not to take the risk.”
A spokesperson for the Lake campaign released a statement on Jan. 23 saying the “tape speaks for itself” and noted that Ms. Lake “rejected DeWit’s multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office.”
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