Yeah, in exposing the bribe attempt, Lake ironically destroyed her own political career because nobody will ever trust her again in confidence.
I don't know what is ironic about it.
There was no "bribe". He was conveying a message (and did a lousy job of it).
She should have gone public right there. Not with the recording (still have questions about the ethics of recording others without their knowledge), but with the information that she was being "tempted" to stand down by those "back east". There would have been no issues with that.
And it should have been 10 months ago. DeWitt does not get named. She gets her message out and it helps her cause.
If she destroyed her career, she destroyed it because:
1. She waited 10 months.
2. She put the GOP in chaos just as the elections cycle is ramping up (and right before the state mandatory meeting).
3. She pulls down a fellow Republican with questionable tactic.
She has caused a lot of damage in the party (some people I know have called this the "last straw" and are leaving the party).
She should also realize that people are not neutral about her. While I applaud her efforts to get the election of 2022 vetted in court (and it should have been redone because it was not done right), her bleating "I won." didn't do her any good with a lot of people.