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Public records lawsuit asks court to force DeSantis to hand over documents related to migrant stunt [1]

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Date: 2022-10-13

“The suit filed Monday by Florida Center for Government Accountability in Leon County Circuit Court seeks to compel the governor’s office to enforce the Public Records Act and produce records the organization requested in September,” the Orlando Sentinel reports. “The suit asks for an immediate hearing.”

FGCA said in its lawsuit that it had previously sought from the governor’s office specific records to or from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, his office, or the state; records to or from DeSantis chief of staff James Uthmeier; and records to or from Vertol Systems Company, the GOP megadonor that was paid more than $1.5 million to fly 50 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts.

While FGCA said that the office acknowledged receipt of the records request, defendants “failed to produce a single record that is responsive” to that request, or a subsequent request, as of filing time. The lawsuit stated that documents that have actually been received didn’t come from the governor’s office, but rather a whole different agency, and aren’t from the specific dates requested by FGCA. Why shouldn’t we believe that the administration of a man who’s staking his political career on trolling is bullshitting watchdogs and media outlets?

“No public records law exemption applies that would prevent the inspection or copying of the records sought by Plaintiff and no exemption has been asserted by Defendants,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants’ refusal to provide the records is unreasonable, unjustified and amounts to an unlawful delay and refusal to provide the records. Plaintiff and the public are entitled to the records.”

“It’s clear that Gov. DeSantis overstepped in a really offensive way with the trafficking of asylum seekers and we think potentially broke his own law,” Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani told the Orlando Sentinel. “Delaying those records is an effort by DeSantis to avoid accountability for his gross political stunt before the Nov. 8 elections.”

Just this week, the Treasury Department watchdog confirmed that the department was launching an investigation into whether the Florida Republican misused federal pandemic relief funds to aid his political stunt. The letter from Deputy Inspector General Richard Delmar followed a request from Massachusetts lawmakers that urged a probe of Florida’s “apparent misuse” of money derived from the American Rescue Plan in order to fund the political scheme. “According to the Florida statute at issue, the ‘relocation program’ was founded using interest earnings associated with COVID-19 relief funding,” lawmakers said.

“If true, we believe this program misuses federal COVID-19 relief funds and violates federal law,” lawmakers continued in their letter. “Accordingly, we request that you investigate Florida and take all necessary action—including potentially rescinding any misused funds—to stop this abuse of coronavirus relief programs.”

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/13/2128730/-Public-records-lawsuit-asks-court-to-force-DeSantis-to-hand-over-documents-related-to-migrant-stunt

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