Arizona GOP chair resigns, alleges pressure from Kari Lake team

Editor's note: This report has been updated to clarify Jeff DeWitt's claims.

Arizona Republican Party Leader he announced that he would resign Wednesday after audio leaked that appeared to show him trying to pay Senate candidate Kari Lake not to run in 2024.

Jeff DeWitt said the audio was “selectively edited.” However, he explained that he chose to resign after being threatened by members of Mr. Lake's team that if he did not resign, more tapes would be released. Lake's campaign denies the allegations.

Lake publicly called for DeWitt's resignation in a voice call Tuesday, calling him “corrupt” and “compromised.”

The audio recording was first reported by the Daily Mail.

“There are very powerful people who are trying to keep you out,” DeWitt reportedly told the Senate candidates in the recording, saying only that these people were from “the East.”

“Tell me, what number do you have?'' DeWitt began, then trailed off.

“Can I afford it too? That's the question,” Lake retorted.

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DeWitt reportedly responded, “I don't mind taking a few years off…I'm open to going right back to what I'm doing.”

Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor in 2022, said he would not accept $1 billion to withdraw from the Senate race.

DeWitt said Wednesday that the call was not a bribe, but a conversation about hiring Lake at his private company. He said she was already an employee when the recordings were made early last year.

“In contrast to the bribery accusations, my arguments were transparent and intended to provide perspective, not coercion,” the outgoing Republican Party chairman said in a statement. “Our relationship was based on friendship, and the conversation now under scrutiny was an open and vulnerable exchange between friends in the living room of her home.”

“I truly believed I was offering a useful perspective to someone I considered a friend,” he added.

FILE – In this Nov. 15, 2016 file photo, Arizona State Treasurer Jeff DeWitt steps into an elevator at Trump Tower in New York. The U.S. Senate confirmed DeWitt as NASA's chief financial officer, setting the stage for his resignation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer, File)

He went on to say that since their conversation, Ms Lake has been “on a mission to destroy” him and accused her of a “disturbing tendency” to record their interactions without their consent.

“Given how much she interacts with high-profile people, including President Trump, this is clearly a concern,” DeWitt argued. “I question how effective a U.S. senator can be in a situation where private and confidential conversations cannot be trusted.”

He also claimed the conversation was “orchestrated,” adding that Lake “orchestrated this entire situation to gain control of the state party.”

“This morning I decided to fight for my position,” he continued. “However, a few hours ago, I received an ultimatum from Lake's team: If I do not resign today, I will face the release of new, more damaging recordings.”

“I have no idea what it is about, but given the many frank discussions we have had as friends, we have decided not to take any risks,” he added.

In response to DeWitt's resignation and allegations of intimidation, Lake's campaign said, “The tapes say it all.”

“No one from the Kali Lake campaign threatened or threatened DeWitt. Mr. DeWitt did not realize how unethical his actions were and has yet to apologize to the Arizona Republican.” “This is unfortunate,” senior advisers Caroline Wren and Garrett Bentley said in a statement.

“DeWitt's false claims come as no surprise,” they continued. “Arizona Republicans must be relieved to receive the resignations. Now we can focus on getting ethical leadership and win big in 2024.”

DeWitt served as chief operating officer during Trump's 2016 and 2020 White House bids before serving as state party chairman in January 2023.

Lake, a former news anchor, has faced backlash for his Senate bid. She led the way in promoting former President Trump's baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, and fought her own legal battle after losing the 2022 gubernatorial race.

She said Tuesday she had no idea who would replace DeWitt.

“I haven't thought about it much. What I want to do is make sure we get rid of the corrupt people,” she said.

This is not the first time Lake has been accused of recording others without their consent. Last year, she recorded an impromptu conversation in an airport lounge where she confronted Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat, over policy issues.

Lake, DeWitt and the Arizona Republican Party did not respond to preliminary requests for comment on the recording.

–Updated at 3:58 p.m.