Kari Lake assails former AZ GOP boss Jeff DeWit, doesn't say why she released 'bribe' recording

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake called the effort by the Arizona Republican Party’s chair last year to keep her out of the race “disgusting,” but didn’t address his allegation that he quit Wednesday after he said she threatened to release a more damaging recording.

Lake predicted Jeff DeWit’s replacement couldn’t be worse than him and didn’t really address why she decided to release her recording about 10 months after he told her there are “very powerful people who want to keep you out.”

Since the March 2023 incident, “I have mentioned that I was bribed by an individual to stay out of politics,” Lake said. “They can’t have us in politics. They can’t have we the people in politics because we’re too dangerous to the corrupt system.

“So, I’ve been talking about this for 11 months. Sadly, the mainstream media hasn’t bothered to ask me any questions about it. … The name came out and now they’re all of a sudden interested in it.”

The event followed DeWit’s lengthy resignation letter earlier in the day and capped an extraordinary spectacle that has drawn international attention. It leaves the Arizona Republican Party in a tailspin ahead of former President Donald Trump’s visit to Phoenix on Friday and the state party’s annual meeting on Saturday.

DeWit could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. He told NBC News that the offer he relayed to her was about protecting the GOP’s electoral prospects.

It “had everything to do with her being a drag on the ticket. There are people who want to make sure we win the election and that’s it. No one believes she can get across the finish line, particularly with independents," he said.

'Betrayal': Arizona GOP Chair Jeff DeWit resigns after recording of 'offer' to Kari Lake

During a 30-minute livestream in which she fielded questions from her supporters, Lake repeatedly trashed the media and urged the nearly 40,000 viewers to donate to her campaign if they could.

The Republican Senate front-runner took issue with DeWit’s statement in which he said he employed her at the time of their conversation.

“I was an employee of Superfeed (Technologies). I’ve always mentioned that. … He was not my boss. He was an employee, a co-worker, just like me,” she said.

An online employment biography for DeWit listed him as the former CEO of the campaign-promoting app company until January 2023, the period when he took over the state GOP.

Lake said of DeWit’s resignation letter that it came “very late. I didn’t see an apology to the people of Arizona. He tried to act like the behavior that you heard on that audio is normal communication amongst friends. It’s disgusting. I think he did a horrible job, and he should have just apologized, resigned and said he’s going to work to do better.”

Lake shrugged off the question of who succeeds DeWit.

“The corruption I saw in this individual, I don’t think there’s anybody who would be worse, to be honest," she said.

The intraparty rupture burst into public view on Tuesday when London’s Daily Mail reported on the recording. DeWit is heard on the recording repeatedly urging her to consider an offer from unnamed interests. Lake repeatedly rejects the offer, insisting she cannot be bought.

“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?’” DeWit asked Lake.

Lake responded: “This is about defeating Trump and I think that’s a bad, bad thing for our country.”

DeWit went on to ask Lake “is there a number at which” when she interjected, “I can be bought?”

Lake told DeWit, “This is not about money. It’s about our country.”

DeWit suggested that Lake could “take a pause for a couple of years. You can go right back to what you’re doing.” He said the offer was not about control, but borne of concern that she could not “raise money to win.”

In the same recording, DeWit said he thought Trump would lose his reelection campaign and “it is time to make way for someone else.”

“I said things I regret, but I realize when hearing Lake’s recording that I was set up. I believe she orchestrated this entire situation to have control over the state party,” DeWit said in a lengthy statement announcing his resignation.

“I received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording,” he said without offering proof of the allegation. “I am truly unsure of its contents, but considering our numerous past open conversations as friends, I have decided not to take the risk. I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks.”

Bribe alleged: Arizona Republican Party boss tried to keep Kari Lake out of Senate race by dangling job

Lake’s campaign pushed back on his assertion in a written statement.

“No one on the Lake campaign blackmailed Mr. DeWit. He attempted to bribe Kari Lake, as the tape reveals clearly. Thankfully, she’s an ethical person and rebuffed his many attempts at bribing her.”

The now-former head of the state GOP said Lake was on “a mission to destroy” him, and her "betrayal" should be seen as a threat to former President Donald Trump and raise questions about her trustworthiness as a senator.

DeWit departs after taking over the GOP in 2023.

The incident marks a dramatic split between two of Arizona’s most high-profile Trump loyalists.

DeWit was the chief operating officer for Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and was the chief financial officer of NASA in the Trump administration. He took over the Arizona GOP in January 2023.

Lake, a former TV broadcaster who narrowly lost the 2022 gubernatorial race, has been a prominent surrogate for Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing in Iowa and New Hampshire, and has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick.

“Contrary to accusations of bribery, my discussions were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion,” DeWit’s statement said. “Our relationship 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. I genuinely believed I was offering a helpful perspective to someone I considered a friend.”

Lake repeatedly referred to the recording as a “video,” though only audio was released.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake rips former AZ GOP boss Jeff DeWit over 'bribe' recording