Republican candidate in secret recording says he has access to Russian hit squad and would 'end' opponent's life

In a Politico bombshell report William Braddock, a Florida Republican congressional candidate can be heard saying he has access to Russian and Ukrainian hit squads, "billions of dollars" in offshore cash, and would "end" the life of one of his Republican political opponents, a Trump-endorsed candidate named Anna Paulina Luna, "if it needs to be done."

"I really don't want to have to end anybody's life for the good of the people of the United States of America," Republican William Braddock can be heard saying in the clip (below). "That will break my heart. But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Luna is a f—ing speed bump in the road. She's a dead squirrel you run over every day when you leave the neighborhood."

Braddock on Monday filed to run for the seat of U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), who is not seeking re-election next year so he can run for governor. Luna (photo, top) is also running for that seat, and lost to Crist in 2020 but managed to get 47% of the vote.

"During a 30-minute call with a conservative activist that was recorded before he became a candidate, William Braddock repeatedly warned the activist to not support GOP candidate Anna Paulina Luna in the Republican primary for a Tampa Bay-area congressional seatbecause he had access to assassins," Politico reports.

"In the recording, Braddock early in the call brought up the alleged assassins. He also made rambling statements about getting financial help from fellow Freemasons or by somehow importing millions of dollars from Malta and Gibraltar."

"I have access to a hit squad, too, Ukrainians and Russians," he said about three minutes into the call, adding "don't get caught out in public supporting Luna. … Luna's gonna go down and I hope it's by herself."

"She's gonna be gone. Period. That's the end of the discussion," Braddock can be heard saying.

Asked how that will happen, he replies: "I call up my Russian — Ukrainian hit squad, and within 24 hours, they're sending me pictures of her disappearing."

"No, I'm not joking," he adds. "Like, this is beyond my control this point."

"Russian mafia. Close-battle combat, TEC-9s, MAC-10s, silencers kind of thing. No snipers. Up close and personal. So they know the person – they know that the target has gone."

He goes on to say, "I know what I'm doing is noble, and I'm just trying to remain a humble servant of God."

The recording was made "just after midnight lastWednesday," Politico says, and the activist who made it "promptly turned it over to St. Petersburg, Fla., police and gave a heads-up to her friend Luna, who filed a petition for an injunction against Braddock."

Below is the audio published by Politico. The activist who recorded it says it was not altered. Braddock told Politico "there is no proof" it is his voice in the recording and called it "a dirty political tactic that has caused a lot of people a lot of stress and is completely unnecessary."

(The captions on the audio appear to be auto-generated and are a poor representation of what is clearly audible, including graphic, offensive, and vile language.)