First appearance on Fox: Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake's campaign is pushing back against the former state Republican Party chair's claims that she was “framed” by conservative agitators in a leaked audio recording that includes a video of her It is said to have involved an attempt at “bribery.” She is running for Senate this year.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWitt resigned in a lengthy letter of resignation Wednesday, a day after the audio recording was leaked and first reported by the Daily Mail. In his letter, he claimed the recording was a “deceptive tactic” by Lake and accused her of being “on a mission to destroy” him.
“The tape speaks for itself. Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWitt tried to bribe Kari Lake. Thankfully, Kari is a very ethical person and offered her support in exchange for not running for office. DeWitt has rejected multiple attempts to provide funding and a seat on the company's board,” campaign senior advisers Caroline Wren and Garrett Bentley told FOX News Digital.
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Kari Lake speaks at the Arizona Republican Party election night rally on November 8, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (John Cherry/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“She would be a great senator for the people of Arizona. No one in the Kali Lake campaign threatened or threatened DeWitt. We hope DeWitt realizes how unethical his actions were. “It's a shame that he hasn't apologized to the Arizona Republican Party yet. DeWitt's false claims are as follows.” “No wonder the Arizona Republican Party is relieved after his resignation. We can now focus on obtaining ethical leadership and win big in 2024,” they added.
Fox News obtained the audio recording but has not independently verified it. It appears to show DeWitt asking Lake if there are “any numbers” that would invite him to “take a break for a few years.” But Lake pushed aside the idea that he could afford it.
“This is not about money, this is about our country,” Lake said.
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In his resignation letter, DeWitt acknowledged that he was the one who participated in the recordings, and that Lake released “selectively edited audio recordings” of private conversations between the two from more than 10 months ago. He claimed it had been “taken out of context.”
“Contrary to the notion that I am Lake's enemy, this conversation was recorded while I was actually employed by Lake at a private company. In fact, over a year and a half we spent time with her We have had many conversations, with financial issues at the forefront of my mind, “I'm interested,'' DeWitt wrote.
“In contrast to the bribery accusations, my discussion was transparent and aimed at providing perspective rather than coercion. Our relationship is based on friendship, and the conversations currently under scrutiny were , an open and vulnerable conversation between friends in the living room of her home that she truly believed was offering a useful perspective to someone she considered a friend, he added.
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Arizona Republican Party Chairman candidate Jeff DeWitt speaks at the Arizona Republican Party Statutory Convention held at Dream City Church on January 28, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble of The Washington Post, via Getty Images)
DeWitt was elected chair of the Arizona Republican Party last year, replacing former chair and Senate candidate Kerry Ward.
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FOX News Digital has reached out to the Republican National Committee for comment.
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