Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated a court ruling that erased claims his administration misappropriated taxpayer money at a press briefing in Miami on Thursday morning.
Speaking without pause for 20 minutes, the governor criticized the media who reported on the misappropriation, waved a paper copy of the ruling and asked whether a reporter from CBS News Miami, who originally reported on the scandal, was present to “correct the record.” CBS News Miami investigative reporter Jim DeFede first broke the story in late August.
“This process has now culminated in what I think is probably the biggest judicial smackdown that I have ever seen in my entire career as an elected official,” DeSantis said. “All the narratives crashed and burned with this opinion by the First District Court of Appeals.”
On Wednesday, a state appellate court ordered a grand jury report, which alleged the DeSantis administration funneled $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to a political committee, should be expunged — or removed from state record.
READ MORE: Appeals court expunges Hope Florida grand jury report | WUSF
The unanimous decision found the Tallahassee grand jury exceeded its authority when it completed a report in January alleging government officials pulled a “sophisticated scheme” misusing taxpayer money.
CBS News Miami published the entire leaked grand jury report in August, although it was never publicly released. The report investigated Hope Florida, a charity connected with DeSantis’ wife, Casey DeSantis.
Though CBS News Miami did not send a reporter to Wednesday’s briefing, DeSantis said the media outlet has "a responsibility to correct the record.”
“The kangaroo court is over, and this is the law. These are the facts, and it's the same that we said a year and a half ago. I hope that this gets in their possession. I'll make sure our guys, make sure CBS [News Miami] has it.”
In 2024, the Hope Florida Foundation, the fundraising arm of the nonprofit, received $10 million from health care company Centene. The money was redirected to a political committee opposing 2024 ballot measures protecting abortion rights and legalizing recreational marijuana.
The company also paid $57 million to the state as part of the same settlement.
The grand jury report alleged the money was misappropriated, because executive agencies cannot pay out third parties under state law. Although the report named numerous people in the DeSantis administration, it didn’t indict any of them, citing insufficient evidence.
But the appellate court countered on Wednesday that the law didn’t apply, because no “civil action” had been filed in court. It asserted the settlement was legal, because it resolved alleged overpayments made to Centene.
“[The grand jury report] brands the named participants as members of a ‘sophisticated scheme’ to misappropriate taxpayer funds … all while conceding the grand jury lacked evidence to criminally charge anyone,” wrote Judge Lance Neff.
The ruling also criticizes Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell, who oversaw the grand jury proceedings, for distributing the final report to unauthorized people.
However, it does not mention Attorney General James Uthmeier, who headed the political committee that received the $10 million as DeSantis’ then-chief of staff.
Uthmeier has since come under scrutiny from Democrats like U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon, who has continuously called for his resignation at rallies and on social media.
After he finished speaking Wednesday, DeSantis gave the podium to Uthmeier, who said he didn’t “have much to add.”
Democrats are already fighting back.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried released a statement Thursday asserting the ruling doesn’t change what happened in the Hope Florida probe. She pointed out the people challenging the grand jury report got to make their case, while no one was there to defend the originally presented evidence.
Fried also pointed out the expungement’s author, Neff of the First District Court of Appeal, was appointed by DeSantis in March.
“The grand jury heard testimony, reviewed evidence and concluded that the $10 million was misappropriated as part of a scheme to fund political activity,” she said. “Erasing the report does not erase those findings.”
DeSantis was headed to the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee to brief the media and public about incoming Hurricane Isaias — which he said he’ll call “Hurricane Isiah,” as he doesn’t know how to pronounce the “weird” name.
The storm strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday night and is projected to make landfall Friday.
