Poetical Poltergeist
Precise and cold hearted
blacklisting donors before an election
Trump is losing it. Nikki done made him super Maga mad.
POTUS or Prisoner; The '24 Trump Campaign Fvckery thread
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Trump is losing it. Nikki done made him super Maga mad.
shamblesShe recorded him trying to bribe her. He had no choice
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
Arizona Republican Party chair resigns after Kari Lake recording is made public — The Washington Post
The recorded conversation appeared to show Jeff DeWit attempting to entice Lake to sit out the 2024 election for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.
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Jesus…
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
Opinion | Trump Is Making a Huge Mistake With His Treatment of Haley — POLITICO
It’s completely counterproductive for Trump and his allies to unleash on his losing primary opponent.
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ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
‘They’ve all turned their backs on her’: Haley hosts a homecoming in a hostile state — POLITICO
The former South Carolina governor has won longshot primaries in her state before. But this one is different.
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Honolulu Blue Ski Mask Way
Hot fire
Arizona Republican Party chair resigns after Kari Lake recording is made public
Recorded conversation appeared to show Jeff DeWit attempting to entice Lake to sit out the 2024 election for the state’s U.S. Senate seat
ByUpdated January 24, 2024 at 9:32 p.m. EST|Published January 24, 2024 at 6:24 p.m. EST
Jeff DeWit was elected Republican Party chair in Arizona in January 2023, about a year before his resignation. (Rebecca Noble/For The Washington Post)Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit announced his resignation Wednesday after a recording was made public that appeared to show him attempting to entice Republican Kari Lake to sit out the 2024 election for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.
The release of the recording came days before former president Donald Trump was scheduled to headline a fundraiser for the state party and as thousands of party activists will gather for an annual meeting that will help shape the party’s direction.
The publication of the recording and DeWit’s resignation mark major challenges for a state Republican Party struggling to bounce back from years of tough election losses. And what happens politically in Arizona, a swing state, could have broader consequences for both the presidency and the Senate majority in 2024.
In the recording, published by the Daily Mail on Tuesday, DeWit tries to dissuade Lake, who lost the gubernatorial election in Arizona in 2022 and has served as a surrogate for Trump in this election cycle, from seeking a Senate seat in 2024. He suggests she instead run for governor again in 2026.
“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out. … But they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is in a big way. So, this conversation never happened,” DeWit says in the recording.
Kari Lake struggles to court moderates, imperiling GOP Senate pickup
He later continues, “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?’”
Lake responds, “This is about defeating Trump, and I think that’s a bad, bad thing for our country.”
In another portion of the exchange, DeWit says: “Just say, is there a number at which —” to which Lake interjects: “I can be bought? That’s what it’s about.”
“You can take a pause for a couple of years. You can go right back to what you’re doing,” DeWit continues. But Lake repeatedly rebuffs his offers, saying it is “not about money. It’s about our country.”
Kari Lake, seen here with Rudy Giuliani at a New Hampshire diner on Monday ahead of the state's primary, has served as a surrogate for former president Donald Trump at 2024 campaign events. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)DeWit, in a statement Wednesday, accused Lake of releasing a “selectively edited audio recording” of a one-on-one conversation that took place more than 10 months ago inside Lake’s home. He also claimed that he received an ultimatum from Lake’s team to resign Wednesday “or face the release of a new, more damaging recording.” The recording that was made public, he said, “is not only taken out of context but also undermines the integrity of private discussions critical for party leadership.” He also states that he was employing Lake at his private company when the conversation occurred.
“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,” DeWit said.
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In a livestream on Rumble Wednesday night, Lake confirmed that she previously worked with DeWit while she was a communication adviser for FeedMe, Inc., but she denied DeWit’s assertion that he was her supervisor.
In his statement, DeWit accused Lake, who launched her Senate campaign in October, of being “on a mission” to destroy him since he advised her to postpone the congressional bid and aim for the governorship.
“I said things I regret, but I realize when hearing Lake’s recording that I was set up,” said DeWit, who became chair of the party in January 2023. “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 … to portray herself as a hero in her own story.”
Lake’s campaign called the recording an attempt to bribe the Senate candidate, adding in a statement that Lake “rejected DeWit’s multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office.”
The campaign also denied threatening or blackmailing DeWit, stating, “It is unfortunate that Dewit hasn’t recognized how unethical his behavior was and still hasn’t apologized to Arizona Republicans. DeWit’s false claims are just par for the course. The Arizona GOP must be relieved to have his resignation. Now we can focus on getting ethical leadership and win big in 2024.”
In her livestream Wednesday night, Lake said she doesn’t know who was behind the attempt to bribe her.
“I don’t know. I wish I did know,” she said.
DeWit’s exit marks the second time in less than a month that a Republican Party state chair has left their position after being embroiled in a scandal.
Florida’s Republican Party removed its chairman, Christian Ziegler, from his job earlier this month. Ziegler is accused of raping a woman who had previously engaged in a three-way tryst with him and his wife, Bridget. Christian Ziegler denied the allegations and resisted calls for him to step down. Sarasota police are investigating the incident but have not filed charges.
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Arizona GOP chair resigns amid leaked Kari Lake audio controversy
By Eric Bradner, CNN
5 minute read
Updated 10:56 PM EST, Wed January 24, 2024
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit is resigning.
Cheryl Evans/The Republic/USA Today Network
CNN —
The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party said Wednesday he is resigning, claiming he was doing so amid pressure from GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake.
Jeff DeWit’s resignation comes after The Daily Mail published an audio recording of a conversation between DeWit and Lake in which he explained to her that there were financial benefits to staying out of the state’s 2024 Senate race. DeWit said Lake threatened to release a “more damaging” audio recording if he did not resign Wednesday.
Lake senior advisers Caroline Wren and Garrett Ventry described DeWit as making “false claims.”
“No one from the Kari Lake campaign threatened or blackmailed DeWit,” Wren and Ventry said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that Dewit hasn’t recognized how unethical his behavior was and still hasn’t apologized to Arizona Republicans.”
DeWit, a former Trump campaign chief operating officer and NASA chief financial officer, said that the conversation had taken place in Lake’s home 10 months ago, while she was an employee of his private business.
In a statement posted Wednesday by the Arizona Republican Party on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, DeWit said he believes he “was set up” in a bid by Lake “to have control over the state party.”
“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,” DeWit said in the statement.
In the audio recording published Tuesday, DeWit says he was asked by “very powerful people” from “back east” whether there are companies that could put Lake on their payroll and keep her from running. He also says he would like to see a “fresh face” in the Senate race.
“Is there a number at which,” DeWit begins to ask in the audio recording.
“I can be bought? That’s what it’s about,” Lake interjects.
“Not be bought,” DeWit says. “You can take a pause for a couple of years. Then go right back to what you’re doing.”
“No,” she says. “$10 million, $20 million, $30, no. $1 billion, no. This is not about money, this is about our country.”
“The tape speaks for itself: The Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit attempted to bribe Kari Lake,” Lake’s aides, Wren and Ventry, said. “Thankfully Kari is an extremely ethical person who rejected DeWit’s multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office. She will be an incredible senator for Arizonans.”
Lake said in a livestreamed campaign event on Wednesday she thought DeWit’s conduct on the recording was “disgusting” and said she felt DeWit “did a horrible job” as head of the Arizona GOP.
“It came very late,” Lake said of DeWit’s resignation letter, which was released Wednesday afternoon. “I didn’t see an apology to the people of Arizona. He tried to act like the behavior 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 apologized and said he’s going to work to do better,” she added.
The former Arizona gubernatorial candidate did not respond to the allegations made by DeWit in his resignation letter in which he claimed Lake threatened to release a “more damaging” recording if he did not resign on Wednesday.
In his resignation statement, DeWit said, “Contrary to the accusations of bribery, my discussions were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion.”
DeWit’s resignation is the latest chapter in years of turmoil atop the Arizona GOP, which has been divided between onetime establishment Republicans and a faction aligned with Donald Trump that is committed to pursuing the former president’s false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
A former Arizona state treasurer, DeWit was seen as a bridge between those factions – in part because of his work for Trump’s campaign and administration – when he was tapped as state GOP chairman in January 2023.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 4, 2023.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
He said his conversation with Lake was “intended to offer perspective, not coercion,” adding that it had been an “open, unguarded exchange between friends in the living room of her house.” DeWit said he advised Lake, who lost the 2022 gubernatorial race, to seek the governor’s office again in 2026 instead of running for the Senate seat of independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Since that conversation, he said, Lake “has been on a mission to destroy me.”
“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,” DeWit said. “I question how effective a United States Senator can be when they cannot be trusted to engage in private and confidential conversations.”
Arizona is poised to play a pivotal role in 2024 as one of the nation’s most competitive presidential battlegrounds, and with a key Senate race on the ballot, as well.
Lake is among several GOP contenders for the seat currently held by Sinema, who has not yet said whether she will seek reelection. The leading Democratic candidate for the seat is US Rep. Ruben Gallego.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Aaron Pellish contributed to this story.
T’Challa’s Heir
Superstar
Dumb on his part. But that feels weird calling it a bribe. She holds no power, he wasn’t promising her a seat. The context was weird, but just kind of hey, sit this one out and we’ll find a random fake job for you. Obviously, there’s some corruption lite going on. But this one doesn’t feel egregious
Dameon Farrow
Superstar
Time is on her side. Her being a woman and a minority isn't but.....10 months is a long time. A lot can go down in 10 months. People act like the election is next month.
Piff Perkins
Veteran
I think she will drop out after getting blown out in her home state SC on Feb 24th. But she prob has the money to carry on into March/Super Tuesday.
CEO of Morgan Industries
Superstar
Just because one side has machine guns and the other side has sticks with rocks tied to them doesn't mean it isn't a civil war.maaaaayynnnne change the title of this thread...this aint no damn civil war
I guess.
Dameon Farrow
Superstar
She has a lot of financial backing. It's actually impressive. I think this is about to be interesting. Certainly one to watch.
A lot can go down within Republucan ranks between now and that SC primary.
Oh we are about to have some fun folks. I hope you have your popcorn ready.
We are in historic times.
Reality Check
Keepin' it 100
She has a lot of financial backing. It's actually impressive. I think this is about to be interesting. Certainly one to watch.
A lot can go down within Republucan ranks between now and that SC primary.
Oh we are about to have some fun folks. I hope you have your popcorn ready.
We are in historic times.
Didn't even realize the primary is still a month away.
Jesus H. Christ
I died for your sins
Trump hates when women start to show courage. Hillary, Nancy, and now Nikki