DeSantis comments on Trump raid spark partisan clash in Florida

by | Aug 9, 2022



  • Gov. Ron DeSantis condemned an unprecedented raid on former President Donald Trump’s residence in South Florida
  • Democrats Nikki Fried and Charlie criticized DeSantis for the comments pointing out that the governor has not condemned January 6th 
  • Opinions on the breaking news event split along party lines with GOP Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott also condemning the raid

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidates called out Gov. Ron DeSantis for comments he made after an unprecedented FBI raid Monday at the Palm Beach home of former President Donald Trump.

During a news conference Tuesday morning outside the governor’s mansion, Democratic candidate Nikki Fried said both political parties should tone down inflammatory rhetoric about the raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice should be allowed to conduct their investigation.

“We are all waiting for lots of answers from yesterday, and we all deserve them,” Fried, the state agriculture commissioner, said. “But we need steady leadership who uphold the American values, including the rule of law and civil discourse.”

The search was reportedly tied to Trump’s retention of classified material amid investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. It came as speculation swirls about Trump and DeSantis running for the White House in 2024.

DeSantis went on Twitter after Monday’s raid and said President Joe Biden’s White House had “weaponized” federal agencies.

“The raid of MAL (Mar-a-Lago) is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves,” DeSantis tweeted, referring to the president’s son. “Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”

A Biden-backed bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes funding for 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, a congressman from St. Petersburg, issued a statement Monday night saying that “no one is above the law, not even a former president.”

“Gov. DeSantis’s knee-jerk partisan response to this law enforcement action proves yet again he is more interested in playing politics than seeking justice or the rule of law,” Crist said in the statement.

“Healing and uniting our state and nation starts with respecting the rule of law. If Ron DeSantis can’t understand that, or refuses to, he’s not qualified to be governor of Florida.”

But DeSantis was joined by other Florida Republicans in condemning the raid.

In a Twitter post, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., compared the raid to “something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships.”

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Tuesday tweeted that when Republicans have a majority in the Senate, there will be “thorough & aggressive investigation into the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago.”

“Everything needs to be on the table for (U.S. Attorney General Merrick) Garland, including impeachment, if he doesn’t come out today and explain what happened,” tweeted Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is leading efforts to elect GOP Senate candidates.

But Fried criticized DeSantis, as he and many other Republicans have kept quiet about the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

“He (DeSantis) won’t condemn January 6. But he has no problem attacking the FBI,” Fried said. “An FBI that is run by a director that was appointed by Donald Trump. Attacking our institutions and making threats about revenge if they gain power is un-American. We should always seek truth and justice.”

5 Comments

  1. Tom

    It is a lie by liar Nikki Fraud.
    Politifact stated and clarified that Gov spoke out snd criticized Jan 6. 4 Pinocchio’s were given.
    I would encourage this publication to clarify.

  2. dmmorrison

    The judge who signed the warrant for the raid is a Trump appointee. The head of the FBI who executed the warrant is a Trump appointee. This whole thing is a product of Trump’s own people. He’s in deep trouble.

  3. John

    This is a little civics lesson. The DOJ, which is part of the Executive Branch of government, had to convince a federal judge, who is part of the Judicial Branch of government, issued a search warrant, which is enshrined in the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. There is nothing illegal about this search. There was probable cause because trump took 15 boxes of government documents, some of which were “highly classified”. With his penchant for destroying documents, the National Archives and DOJ felt that all the documents were not returned and the FBI, headed by a trump appointee, searched his home. It should be pointed out that the federal judge that issued the warrant was appointed by trump as well. So when Rubio, Scott, and DeSantis bellyache about the Mara Lago search, they look at it as a fund raising opportunity. They could care less about trump and even less about democracy and the rule of law.

  4. Van Hamlin

    Obviously commenting person don’t understand the process. An agent applies for the warrant and makes allegations as to why a search warrant is required. An AUSA reviews the application and the Gent’s investigation. Once the AUSA is happy with the warrant application, they take it to a US Magistrate (not a full Federal Judge l). The judge reviews the application for compliance with the law after the agent swears the allegations are factual. The Magistrate is duty bound to approve the warrant if it is correct on its face.
    If the agent lied, then the agent is in trouble but if some of the allegations are later found to incorrect, it is only a basis for a suppression hearing.

    The FBI has a track record for making things up that go back to the civil rights days. They need to be punished if they lied. I doubt anyone punishes them or Hillary or Hunter or anyone on the Progressives socialist team. The FBI needs to be defunded. Break them up and send their duties to Homeland Security.

    Charlie and Nicki are both flip floping local politicians, who are on the Progressives Team – NOW! They want Florida to be like New York. Do not vote for these chameleons.

    • Deborah Coffey

      Total nonsense. The FBI has been a VERY conservative organization for decades. Your spin holds no water at all.

 

What is the most glaring political issue facing Floridians ahead of Legislative Session?
×
%d bloggers like this: