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Arizona GOP chairman Jeff DeWit resigns after controversy involving Kari Lake
AZ Family News - 3TV/CBS 5 ^ | 1/24/2024 | Peter Velencia

Posted on 01/24/2024 12:30:23 PM PST by stars & stripes forever

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- The Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party has resigned amid a growing number of calls to step down after a British tabloid released clips of him reportedly trying to “bribe” former gubernatorial candidate and TV news anchor Kari Lake to not run for Senate.

The verified audio recording obtained by the Daily Mail reveals party chair Jeff DeWit asking Lake to “Just say, is there a number at which,” that appears to signify Lake to essentially “name her price.” Lake is heard in the audio tape taking offense to the remark, stating, “I can be bought? That’s what it’s about.” The clip continues with DeWit saying: “You can take a pause for a couple of years. You can go right back to what you’re doing.” To which Lake replies, “This is not about money, it’s about our country.”

DeWit said in a statement announcing his exit that the tape was “selectively edited” and used in a “deceptive” way. He claims that despite the conversation appearing against Lake, she was actually employed by him in DeWit’s private company. DeWit claims since that conversation, that Lake has been on a “mission to destroy” him.

“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,” the statement read in part. The decision to step down on Wednesday was part of an “ultimateum,” DeWit said, adding that the Lake campaign threatened the release of a “more damaging” recording, audio which he says he is unsure of what it continues.


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: arizona; arizonascandal; azgopchair; denitwit; dewit; kari; karilake; lake; nitwit; wellbye
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To: dragnet2

Courtesy ‘ping’ to Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh...Kari wasn’t the only one that the GOP screwed.


61 posted on 01/24/2024 1:23:40 PM PST by who knows what evil? (Hospitals are the most dangerous place on Earth! Dr. David Williams)
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To: 11th_VA
So, we've wasted billions in military resources on a failed proxy war in Ukraine, our military has been in Syria for using doing something underhanded and we use the CIA to foment revolutions worldwide but we can't keep Mexican drug cartels to from intimidating public officials?

Sorry, I don't but it. We could crush Mexican cartels in a couple of weeks if we unleashed our military on them.

62 posted on 01/24/2024 1:25:03 PM PST by Kazan
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To: Tench_Coxe
He’s protecting the “powerful people back East”.

I sure would like to hear the phone call that Haley received. I bet she negotiated a very lucrative deal.

63 posted on 01/24/2024 1:27:52 PM PST by usurper (AI was born with a birth defect.)
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To: Kazan
"CIA to foment revolutions worldwide but we can't keep Mexican drug cartels to from intimidating public officials"

Theory: maybe elements of the first party are "in business" with the second party.

Mena, Arkansas ring a bell? And the 2020 runup looked suspiciously like a color revolution.

64 posted on 01/24/2024 1:33:59 PM PST by Tench_Coxe (The woke were surprised by the reaction to the Bud Light fiasco. May there be many more surprises)
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To: stars & stripes forever
The bipartisan anthem of the Uniparty:


65 posted on 01/24/2024 1:39:16 PM PST by Jim Noble (Assez des mensonges et des phrases)
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To: stars & stripes forever
Will another RINO replace Jeff DeWit?


66 posted on 01/24/2024 1:41:48 PM PST by Jim Noble (Assez des mensonges et des phrases)
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To: stars & stripes forever

The McCain camp kicked him out before they looked into it any closer.


67 posted on 01/24/2024 1:47:09 PM PST by Zathras
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To: stars & stripes forever
"B***h set me up!" is the story that DeWitless is going with, after "out of context" and "selectively edited" failed to launch.
68 posted on 01/24/2024 1:50:54 PM PST by Eagles6 (Welcome to the Matrix . Orwell's "1984" was a warning, not an instruction manual.)
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To: HandBasketHell

Veiled threats as well.


69 posted on 01/24/2024 2:00:19 PM PST by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Equity" = "All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others.")
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To: stars & stripes forever

“a Biblical Deborah for such a time as this.”

Deborah is good. But going Yael on these guys would be better.


70 posted on 01/24/2024 2:04:04 PM PST by MayflowerMadam ("A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once.")
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To: stars & stripes forever

71 posted on 01/24/2024 2:09:12 PM PST by Boomer (The Long Winter is coming...)
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To: Eagles6

Why do I smell Shumer’s bitch Mitch all over this story.


72 posted on 01/24/2024 2:09:44 PM PST by DaiHuy (I support LGBTQ. (Lets Get Biden to Quit.))
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To: Bookshelf; little jeremiah; LS; bitt; RitaOK; generally; Melian

h/t bookshelf for the following info looking into the Zona Cabal courtesty of FReeper LS who’s by line is on this piece!

check it out at the following link in bookshelf’s post

**************************

For those interested in the hidden cabal that runs Arizona, see
UncoverDC
https://www.uncoverdc.com/2021/01/25/revolt-in-the-desert
Revolt in the Desert | uncoverdc.com | uncoverdc.com
WebJan 25, 2021


73 posted on 01/24/2024 2:17:10 PM PST by thinden (buckle up ....)
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To: stars & stripes forever
'However a few hours ago I received an ultimatum from Lake's team: Resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording.'

WORSE? HOW???

74 posted on 01/24/2024 2:21:11 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: dragnet2
Someone here clearly don’t like Kari Lake

And who would that be...

75 posted on 01/24/2024 2:23:23 PM PST by Osage Orange (I miss Rush)
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To: stars & stripes forever

I just finished reading the AZ GOP Chairman’s resignation statement and it was obviously written by a lawyer employed by the Anti-Trump forces in the Republican Party.


76 posted on 01/24/2024 2:23:48 PM PST by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Zack Attack

She’s a former news anchor and a political neophyte. I doubt she is capable of the duplicity and cunningness required to even attempt to achieve what he says. The establishment hates her so she has no real support within the party, which is what she would need to pull this off. Jeff just needs to shut up and go away.


77 posted on 01/24/2024 2:24:15 PM PST by Prince of Space (Trump 2024!)
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To: stars & stripes forever

Me too!


78 posted on 01/24/2024 2:26:09 PM PST by Prince of Space (Trump 2024!)
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To: stars & stripes forever

“”””As Chairman, my primary duty is to strengthen our party, which often involves challenging dialogues and strategic decisions. These conversations are meant to assess and enhance the viability of our candidates. The truth is, when I took the helm, our party was in disarray - financially unstable, organizationally weak, and lacking in momentum. Today, we have made significant improvements in acquiring a new office headquarters, legal victories for election integrity, and historic fundraising achievements.”””””


Except from AZ GOP resignation statement.

This dude did absolutely nothing to fix election integrity in AZ. In fact, he and his fellow AZ RINO’s made election integrity worse in AZ.


79 posted on 01/24/2024 2:27:56 PM PST by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

for FReepers who have not read it-—

Full statement from DeWit
In light of the recent revelation that Kari Lake has released a selectively edited audio recording of our private conversation. I must clearly address this deceptive tactic. The recording, from over ten months ago, is not only taken out of context but also undermines the integrity of private discussions critical for party leadership.

As Chairman, my primary duty is to strengthen our party, which often involves challenging dialogues and strategic decisions. These conversations are meant to assess and enhance the viability of our candidates. The truth is, when I took the helm, our party was in disarray - financially unstable, organizationally weak, and lacking in momentum. Today, we have made significant improvements in acquiring a new office headquarters, legal victories for election integrity, and historic fundraising achievements.

Contrary to the notion of me being an enemy of Lake’s, this conversation was recorded while I was actually employing Lake in my private company. In fact, for over a year and a half we had many conversations where I was looking out for her financial interests. The ethical breach in her recording of our conversation, while Lake was my employee, raises serious legal and moral concerns. This act of recording was not just a betrayal of trust but also a violation of the fiduciary responsibilities of an employee. Contrary to accusations of bribery, my discussions were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion. 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 has a massive megaphone that I cannot compete with. I am just a business and financial guy that got recruited into this unpaid role that demands the amount of time of roughly two full time jobs - nights, weekends, holidays, and more are all workdays. My motivation for accepting this position was that I wanted to contribute positively, with the primary focus being the betterment of Arizona and our nation through the election of competent individuals. While there is much more that I could express, I must refrain from defending myself, as it could potentially undermine this objective.

Since our conversation where I advised Lake to postpone her campaign and aim for the Governor’s position in two years, she has been on a mission to destroy me. It was a suggestion made in good faith, believing it could benefit both her future prospects and the party’s overall strategy. The release of our conversation by Lake confirms a disturbing tendency to exploit private interactions for personal gain and increases concerns about her habit of secretly recording personal and private conversations. This is obviously a concern given how much interaction she has with high profile people including President Trump. I question how effective a United States Senator can be when they cannot be trusted to engage in private and confidential conversations.

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, and it is obvious from the recording that she crafted her performance responses with the knowledge that she was recording it, intending to use this recording later to portray herself as a hero in her own story.

This morning, I was determined to fight for my position. However, a few hours ago, I received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording. 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, allowing me to return to the business sector—a field I find much more logical and prefer over politics.

I am a proud supporter of President Trump, having worked diligently as the COO & CFO of his 2016 campaign, served in his Administration for two years, and returned as the COO of the 2020 campaign. Like many Republicans, I am eager to see him return to the White House, bringing back low inflation, a secure border, and economic growth. President Trump is not only a successful businessman but also a passionate Patriot. We have both faced the challenge of dealing with unauthorized recordings, a situation no one should endure. While I have occasionally critiqued some of his endorsements, my admiration for his character has never faltered. My dedication remains with Arizona Republicans, our commendable elected officials, and candidates who are champions of freedom, as well as my friends in the Trump campaign, united in our goal to reclaim the White House.

Our party’s focus should be unity, integrity, and the selection of candidates who can truly lead and represent our values. We are weakened by internal strife, underhanded tactics, and the erosion of trust. As someone who has dedicated countless unpaid hours to this cause, I hope that every future party Chairman is as committed to steering our party towards a future that embodies our core principles of unity, respect, and professionalism.

In closing, my actions will always reflect what’s best for Arizona Republicans, our commendable elected officials, and our mission to reclaim the White House. This is all such a distraction to that mission that I am doing as Ms. Lake wishes and am stepping down as Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party.

Statement from Chairman Jeff DeWit issued on Wednesday, Jan. 24


80 posted on 01/24/2024 2:32:40 PM PST by Presbyterian Reporter
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