EXCLUSIVE Audio Recording Reveals the Moment a Senior Republican Figure Tried to Bribe Kari Lake Not to Run for Senate
An audio recording obtained by DailyMail.com reveals the extraordinary moment when what appears to be Arizona’s top Republican official tried to bribe populist firebrand Kari Lake not to enter the state’s Senate race.
Jeff DeWit, 51, chairman of the Republican Party of Arizona, can be heard asking Lake, a close ally of Donald Trump, to name her price for staying out of politics for two years.
“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” he tells her in a conversation recorded in early March last year.
DeWit tells Lake, 54, one of the most public faces of the former president’s MAGA movement and a woman often mentioned as a 2024 vice presidential pick, that he thinks Trump will lose and that it is time to to make for someone else.
After asking her not to discuss the conversation with anyone, he makes his first offer.
Jeff DeWit and his wife Marina with President Donald Trump. DeWit was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Arizona last year. Shortly afterwards, he urged Kari Lake to step back from politics for two years. “There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” he told you
“So the question I got from back east today was, ‘Are there any companies or something that can put her on the payroll to keep her out?’
Lake reacts indignantly.
“This is about beating Trump and I think that’s a bad thing for our country,” she said.
Later, DeWit, who was chief operating officer of Trump’s 2020 campaign, puts it differently.
“Tell me, is there a number at which…” he begins.
Lake chimed in, “I can be bought? That’s what it’s about.
‘You can take a break for a few years. You can immediately continue with what you are doing.’
Lake repeatedly turns him down, saying she wouldn’t do it for a billion dollars.
“This isn’t about money, it’s about our country,” she says.
The pressure on DeWit to resign as chairman of the state party is already increasing
Lake described what happened last year to an audience at the Conservative Political Action Committee. “They called me earlier and said I needed to speak to you in person. It cannot be done over the phone,” she said, revealing how an unnamed person had tried to buy her off
Two sources confirmed DeWit’s identity as the speaker.
He and his press secretary did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Lake’s office also did not respond.
At the time of their conversation, Lake was publicly considering a run for the U.S. Senate.
And the episode reveals the tensions that arose after she refused to accept defeat in Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial race.
She emerged as a national figure and became a regular on Fox News, repeating Trump’s election denial. That put her at odds with the more traditional wing of the Republican Party, which feared that a new breed of Trump loyalists could alienate major donors.
She announced her run in October.
Lake has previously spoken about the extraordinary attempt to keep her out of the race, but has never revealed who was behind it.
On Monday, Arizona talk show host Garret Lewis appointed DeWit, who was elected chairman of the party last January.
He served as the party’s state treasurer before being appointed NASA’s chief financial officer by Trump.
Arizona party officials quickly called for him to resign as news of his offer to Lake spread.
DeWit was nominated by the Trump administration as NASA’s Chief Financial Officer. He was confirmed by the Senate in 2018 and resigned two years later
Lake is often talked about as a possible vice presidential pick for Trump’s 2024 ticket
“If this is indeed true, I am asking AZGOP Chairman Jeff DeWit to resign,” said Craig Berland, chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee.
It is the latest in a series of scandals to hit the Republican Parties. Earlier this month, the Florida party ousted its chairman after police said he was under investigation for sexual assault.
In the new 10-minute audio clip, DeWit is asked for confidentiality.
“If you say no, that’s fine, it’s your choice, don’t tell people,” he tells Lake.
He later explains the rationale behind the offer.
“I think what it really comes down to for a lot of people is it’s not about control or agenda,” he says. “It’s about the ability to raise money to win.”
Lake sticks to her guns.
‘I don’t want to make a deal with these kinds of people. This is a hill worth dying on,” she said.
“I’m not… if they’re going to steal the elections to make me and our movement disappear. I won’t let them do that.
“I owe it to the people of Arizona to carry their torch and their voices.”
Lake has been campaigning for Trump for the past month, spending time in Iowa and New Hampshire encouraging supporters to vote. She is seen here on Sunday at a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire
Lake revealed the approach days after it happened. She used an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference to describe how someone had shown up at her door.
“They called me earlier and said I needed to talk to you in person. You can’t do that over the phone,” she said.
She described being asked to name her price for leaving politics for two years.
‘Now I’m going to be honest, at that moment. “I wanted to rub my dog on him,” she told the audience in Orlando, Florida.
“But I have a pug and that wouldn’t happen.”