Who is Jeff DeWit? Kari Lake bribery audio recording goes viral, leaves internet baffled 

Recently, a secret recording of Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake with the GOP leader of the state, Jeff DeWit, was leaked online by the Daily Mail. On the tape, the latter can reportedly be heard asking Kari Lake “to name her price to stay out of politics for two years,” as reported by The Messenger.

“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” Jeff DeWit told Lake in the recording from March 2023.

However, Kari Lake can be heard repeatedly pushing back, saying, “This is not about money, it’s about our country.” As soon as the leaked audio became viral, netizens reacted in disbelief.

In the wake of this ousted tape, focus has also fallen on the identity of Jeff Dewit.

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All you need to know about Jeff DeWit, the Republican who tried to bribe Kari Lake

According to Daily Mail, Jeff DeWit, whose real name is Jeffrey James DeWit, is an American businessman and politician. He has been serving as the Chairman of the Republican Party in Arizona since January 2023.

Before becoming the GOP chair for the state, Jeff DeWit was the Chief Financial Officer of NASA from April 2018 and February 2020 and was elected by then-President Donald Trump for that role.

Jeff DeWit has also served as the 43rd State Treasurer of Arizona from January 2015 to April 2018. He was also the chief operating officer of Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to that, the 51-year-old was also the chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign in Arizona.

An alumnus of the University of Southern California from where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance, Jeff DeWit started his own stock trading firm in 1999 called ECHOtrade and was its CEO for over 14 years.

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Exploring the leaked conversation between Kari Lake and Jeff DeWit

An unverified audio of a phone correspondence between Kari Lake and Jeff DeWit has now been leaked online. In the tape, DeWit is heard asking Kari Lake to name her price and not run for Arizona Senate this year.

DeWit asks Lake, “Is there a number at which….?” with the latter finishing the question, “I can be bought?” As Lake continues to laugh, she also asks, “What it’s about?” At this point, DeWit says:

“You can take a pause for a couple of years now. Then go right back to it.”

Kari Lake responds in the negative while also giving out random numbers including 10 million, 20 million, 30 million, and a billion. She keeps saying “no,” while also making it clear that her political career was not up for sale, as it was not about “money,” but the future of the nation.

“I think it’s disturbing that they would even, that anybody would think this is…” Lake continues, only to be interrupted by DeWit, who tries to persuade her, saying even he wanted to see a fresh face at the state Senate, but there were people in positions of power who wanted her to stay out of the political limelight for now.

“Know I’m not going to let these people who hate our f*cking country tell me not to run. You should call them and tell them to get behind me,” Lake replied instantly.

When Kari Lake demands further clarification on what’s going on and whether it was an ally who wanted her out of the game, DeWit responds it was an instruction he got from “back east.” He also adds that these powerful people are willing to spend as much money as necessary to keep her out. Subsequently, he tells her to never let people know about their chat, as the “conversation never happened.”

When Lake points out how she was an ideal candidate to run for the Senate and how people who want to stop her are “corrupt,” DeWit seems to agree, while saying he might get into trouble for the same. The Republican chair of Arizona also said it was Lake’s choice to make and she can say no to the proposal.

When Lake adds that she may get murdered for her decision, DeWit states how there were "cartels in all 50 states." Moments later, he is heard adding that it was not about “ownership,” but rather about “control,” which is why he was put up for the job to convince her peacefully, “to be a part of their team.”

Lake mentioned how if the “team” was pushing for a “globalist agenda,” she was not in, making DeWit jump straight to the point saying, “so the ask I got today…was, ‘Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll to keep her out’?”

In response, Lake explained:

“This is about defeating Trump. And I think that’s a bad, bad thing for our country… This is about the final death blow to Trump, and I don’t think that’s good for our country.”

Once again, Jeff DeWit seemed to agree with her, only to contradict her seconds later saying he was not sure that Trump could win again. Kari wrapped up by saying that if it were about stealing the election, she would do everything in her power not to let that happen, as she owed that much to the people of Arizona.

As Jeff tells her that it is not about going away forever, but just taking a pause, Kari reminds her that “the battle [is] right now.” DeWit also says that DC is “a back-scratching club,” and if Lake is not willing to do so, someone else is. Disregarding DeWit’s warning, Lake confirms that she was running and was going to be the “biggest pain in their f*cking a*ses,” and they would have to kill her to stop her.

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“You just know this stuff goes on all the time”: Internet reacts to Kari Lake’s bribery tape

Ever since the secret tape was leaked, the internet has had diverse reactions to it. Here are some of the comments in this regard from @CollinRugg’s tweet on the same.

For those uninitiated, Kari Lake is a former news anchor, who previously lost the race to become the Governor of Arizona in 2022. At present, the 54-year-old Illinois native is running to replace independent Senator of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema.

Notably, the now Republican was an independent candidate from 2006 to 2008, followed by a Democratic affiliation between 2008 and 2012.