Posted on 03/15/2023 12:31:40 PM PDT by conservative98
President Donald Trump took his attacks on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a new level Wednesday, as a super PAC linked to the 76-year-old accused his would-be rival of ethics violations tied to what it calls DeSantis’ “shadow presidential campaign.”
A draft of the 15-page letter by Make America Great Again Inc. calls on the Florida Commission on Ethics to investigate DeSantis, alleging that the 44-year-old has violated a slew of state statutes as well as federal campaign finance laws.
The complaint refers to DeSantis as a “de facto candidate for president” and claims that the governor is “leveraging his elected office and breaching his associated duties in a coordinated effort to develop his national profile, enrich himself and his political allies, and influence the national electorate.”
“Governor DeSantis’ failure to declare his candidacy is no mere oversight,” the complaint alleged. “[I]t is a coordinated effort to specifically designed for him to accept, as unethical gifts, illegal campaign contributions and certain personal benefits that are necessarily intended to influence his official decision to resign from office under Florida’s resign to run law.
“Governor DeSantis’ ham-handed maneuverings,” the complaint added, “have rendered him irreparably conflicted and have left the statehouse vacant.”
The letter includes as evidence that DeSantis has “abused his office and abdicated his official duties in favor of pursuing his national political interests” the fact that the governor has “met with influential figures in early primary states,” “is vetting operatives in early primary states,” and “met with individuals who are likely to play key roles in his presidential campaign.”
The letter asks that the commission impose one or more penalties including impeachment, removal from office, public censure, ballot disqualification and fines.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Trump is jealous of the growing popularity of DeSantis here in the state of Florida.
He can’t stand someone who might be popular and steal the limelight.
He hired bloggers to start attacking DeSantis months ago. That is called paranoia..... Nixon exhibited similar symptoms.
Maybe he believes he doesn’t need Florida’s 30 electoral votes.
Totally agree. But why not focus on Biden and the democrats.
He did pick up 10 million votes from the previous run. If he doesn’t change his strategy he’s gonna turn those voters against him.
It’s different this time......
Trump doesn’t ignore Brandon.
Trump is in campaign mode.
Trump wasn’t exactly kind to many R’s in the 2015/2016 campaign.
The difference this time is he actually has a record of accomplishments, failings, and attempts by your govt to railroad him.
And ultimately a stolen election that is the reason he is running instead of governing today..
That’s what makes it really different.
He should be in the White House today..
MAGA isn’t going to just forget that inconvenient truth..
Hardly anyone in the party is supporting Trump at this time. He's only received a dozen or so formal endorsements from the hundreds of elected Republican officials.
I like DeSantis but don’t think he’s rough or tough enough for what will need to be done once Bidens out. ....because he does care how he’s perceived. Trump on the other hand doesn’t care if you like him or not if believes he’s doing the right thing for this country.
you are parsing words. he said he wasn’t running. he said Florida was more important. he was asked the question in the context of running against the only candidate we all knew was going to run. he didn’t have to say Trump’s name. we all knew what he was saying. you’re deflecting.
Maybe not in a court of law but in the court of public opinion it does matter because it speaks to the kind of man and leader DeSantis would be.
I don’t want Florida to lose him. So I have mixed feelings about his possible run.
It's frickin' March, dude. Trump in 2016 didn't announce until June 2015. What is exactly is the big rush? Usually only the loser also-rans announce this early, the serious candidates in spring and summer.
Hmmm... The Senate President of Florida disagrees with most on this thread. Why must she repeal it if he can run?
If DeSantis decides to run for president while remaining governor, it will likely require a change to Florida law. Florida currently says state officeholders must resign their positions if they run for a federal office. But Republican lawmakers, including state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, say don’t worry about the law — the legislature will repeal it. “When you think about it,” Passidomo recently told reporters, “if an individual who ... is a Florida governor is running for president, he should be allowed to do it.”
No, he's an incumbent president, you disingenuous person. No one seriously challenged Donald Trump in the 2020 primary when he was the incumbent.
Why do you feel so Trump is so entitled to the nomination? I think he (and DeSantis and anyone else) has to earn it. It's not a Hillary Clinton circa 2016 coronation.
He was asked the question facing an impending re-election campaign.
Did anyone think he would answer, "Well, first I want to get re-elected so I can focus on a presidential campaign."
Charlie Crist would've clobbered him with the allegations that Ron DeSantis doesn't really want to be governor of Florida.
Point is, at no time did DeSantis EVER say he would defer running in case Trump wanted to jump into the race. And in September '21, Trump was more than a year out from declaring.
Trump himself endorsed McCain, Ryan, Romney, Collins, Sasse, and many other Republicans who had previously trashed him.
Was DeSantis supposed to endorse O'Dea's Democrat opponent (as Trump himself did in Georgia's gubernatorial race)?
As stated earlier, we all knew Trump would run again.
Doesn't matter. Trump wasn't a candidate in September '21. You're projecting. You're putting words in DeSantis' mouth. At no point did he ever say he would defer the nomination to Trump.
You're not the only one. There's a dozen or so FReepers repeating the same BS talking points, "DeSantis said he wasn't going to run if Trump ran and now he's a backstabber!"
At any rate, Trump deserves no coronation. He needs to make his case to Republican primary voters. Let him fight for the nomination just like everyone else.
If DeSantis is the GOP nominee, I intend to vote for him. If Trump is the nominee, are you going to vote for him? Thats all that matters here.
Of course. I voted for Dole. I voted for McCain. I voted for Romney. I'll vote for Trump. I expect it'll end the same.
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