Ex-GOP boss toppled by Kari Lake recordings, calls her response to released messages 'irony'

Jeff DeWit, the former chair of the Arizona Republican Party who was toppled after U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake released a secret recording of him, said he was dismayed Wednesday when she disapproved of another Republican using a similar tactic in a congressional race.

“It is the irony of ironies that she’s saying this about Blake (Masters),” DeWit told The Arizona Republic in a rare public remark since he quit the state GOP in January under pressure from "Lake’s team."

“How generous of Kari Lake to take a break from digitizing and cataloging the thousands of hours of secretly recorded conversations she has made over the years to lecture others on violations of privacy.

“After all, she’s the expert on releasing private conversations. By the way, someone should remind her that Bedminster might be in a one-party consent state, but Mar-a-Lago isn’t.”

Bedminster is former President Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf club and Mar-a-Lago is his Florida resort. It is an allusion to the sites where Lake may have recorded conversations with Trump.

DeWit's comments come after congressional candidate Masters released text messages with his rival Abe Hamadeh in which Hamadeh referred to election deniers as "the crazies."

Social media accounts linked to Lake echoed complaints against Masters for publicly doing so. In one, Lake reposted a message that said, “Blake Masters is a rat.” In another, she reposted a tweet from Hamadeh saying “Blake ‘The Snake’ Masters is undermining our election lawsuit, President Trump, Kari Lake, and the entire America First movement.”

Opinion: Abe Hamadeh privately called his base 'the crazies'? Yeah, he's done

Lake did not appear to comment directly on the Hamadeh matter on social media, but by repeating messages to her nearly 1.8 million followers on X Lake is widening an intra-party controversy.

The Lake campaign could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon about her apparent displeasure with Masters’ maneuver. She has endorsed Hamadeh in that House race, as has Trump.

The Hamadeh controversy comes about four months after Lake released a secret recording of a 2023 conversation she had with DeWit in which he told her there were “very powerful people who want to keep you out” of the Senate race.

The public falling-out involved two of Trump’s staunchest Arizona allies.

Masters, who had Trump’s endorsement during his 2022 Senate run, undermined a key pillar of Hamadeh’s campaign by sharing the messages, which referenced Hamadeh’s narrow 2022 loss for attorney general to Democrat Kris Mayes.

Masters released correspondence in which Hamadeh wrote to him, “No matter what happens I’m winning right now. I’m not lumped in with crazies with election stuff because I’m so close at 280” votes. “But the crazies love because they see me fighting.”

Hamadeh has publicly complained about election integrity issues nationally ever since.

Both men are running for the West Valley-based seat held by the retiring U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz.

Opinion: Kari Lake refuses to debate Republican Mark Lamb. What an insult for GOP voters

Lake has also made election denialism a prominent subject in her public comments since her narrow 2022 gubernatorial loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Both Hamadeh and Lake have secured Trump’s endorsement. Trump also has made baseless claims of a stolen election a central battle cry of his current campaign.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has long urged Lake to drop election denialism as a topic in favor of more politically unifying subjects, such as inflation and border security.

In his January resignation, DeWit said “Lake’s team” threatened to release another, more damaging recording involving him.

“I have decided not to take the risk,” DeWit wrote. “I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks.”

In January, Lake said DeWit’s resignation letter came “very late. I didn’t see an apology to the people of Arizona. He tried to act like the behavior that 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 said he’s going to work to do better.”

Citing unnamed sources, the Washington Post has reported that Trump was “more surprised than angry” when he learned what had happened to DeWit, but was surprised to hear that Lake “tapes everything.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jeff DeWit highlights 'irony' in Kari Lake reply to released messages