(UnitedVoice.com) – The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party has announced his resignation after being caught in a bribery scandal. Jeff DeWit allegedly offered GOP candidate Kari Lake money if she agreed to pull out of this year’s US Senate race. Lake refused — and now a tape of DeWit’s corrupt offer has emerged.
On January 23, a British newspaper, the Daily Mail, released a recording of a conversation it said was between Lake and DeWit. In it, DeWit told Lake, “There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” and started to ask, “is there a number at which…” Lake then interrupted and asked if he thought she could be bought. DeWit replied that she could “take a pause” and return to politics in a couple of years.
When the recording was released, Lake immediately called on the “corrupt and compromised” DeWit to resign. In a response the next day, DeWit claimed the conversation was “selectively edited,” but seemed more annoyed at Lake for recording the conversation than at the bribery scandal. At the time, he said he planned to fight Lake’s attempt to oust him. Now, he seems to have changed his mind.
DeWit says Lake’s team has contacted him and threatened to release another, “more damaging” recording. He claims he doesn’t know what could be in that recording, but said he’s “decided not to take the risk,” and will comply with her call for his resignation. In return, he says, he’d like her to stop her “attacks” on him.
DeWit still hasn’t actually admitted trying to bribe her, though; in his self-justifying statement, he claimed Lake set him up in a bid to take control of the Arizona GOP. However, he doesn’t have any explanation of why he mentioned the people who don’t want Lake to run, or how she manipulated him into bringing that up. Now, he plans to go back into business — and Lake is free to continue with her campaign.
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