Free Republic

Little has been made of the current FBI’s probing into possible financial corruption in the Mayor’s Tallahassee administration.Reports of under-the-table deal-making in vacation venues where Andrew and Cory have hooked-up for fun and relaxation raised eyebrows, but interest faded rapidly.Cory also has faded deep into the background as Andrew makes a run at the Florida Governor’s mansion and echoes of the FBI Tallahassee corruption investigation bounce around in the background.The close friendship between Gillum and Cory goes way back. The sudden distance between the two old wheeler-dealers has not helped in quashing suspicion that some kind of political/financial hanky-panky has...

When Jeb Bush set out to build a political base of his own in South Florida three decades ago, he did not lack for new friends. He was a magnet for a long line of Republicans eager to be associated with him and his powerful family, including a Cuban immigrant and former corrections officer named Tony Campos. Mr. Campos ended up working as an advance man for Mr. Bush’s father, George, when he ran for president in 1988 and on the inauguration after he won. Jeb Bush was impressed enough that he recommended Mr. Campos for a job in the...

Donald Trump's latest comments earned him a rebuke from a Jeb Bush spokesman for "trafficking in false conspiracy theories" about the former investment bank Lehman Brothers, where Bush worked for a stint after leaving the governor's office in Florida in 2007. Amid Trump's 33 attacks against the Bush family in a 35-minute interview with The Washington Post, he managed numerous times to drop his suspicions that Bush's high salary from Lehman was a "reward for helping direct Florida state funds to the firm, whose collapse in 2008 helped kick off the Great Recession," The Post reports. "That’s a Hillary Clinton...

Jim Rimes racked up $2 million on his GOP credit card. TALLAHASSEE - While using his first term as Senate president to push an aggressive ethics reform package, Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, has hired longtime lobbyist and political consultant Jim Rimes to a top-tier post. The practice of lobbyists working inside state government, or — more prominently — state employees taking lucrative lobbying gigs is not new. It’s often referred to as the “revolving door.” The Rimes hire, though, comes as Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, have set up committees to examine ways to toughen state ethics laws....

The tapes were discovered missing as police began investigating the alleged rape of a then 15-year-old boy with a 32 IQ. Critics point out, though, that it is far from the first time that critical evidence was unavailable during similar investigations. Surveillance tapes also were missing, or of poor quality, after the deaths of three boys in Juvenile Justice custody: Omar Paisley, Danny Matthews and Shawn Smith. "Talk about a major cover-up," said state Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami. "These people should play the lottery.