Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday lashed out after the Leon County State Attorney’s Office confirmed an open investigation related to a nonprofit linked to First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature Hope Florida program, saying there is “no basis” for a probe.
DeSantis assailed House Health Care Budget Chairman Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican who submitted records to State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office late last month after a House inquiry into the nonprofit Hope Florida Foundation.
Lori Abbey, a public-records administrator in Campbell’s office, said Tuesday in an email that the records are “part of an open, on-going investigation.”
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“Just understand what happened, he (Andrade) took documents, and he dropped them in a prosecutor’s office,” the governor said Wednesday during a bill-signing event in Winter Haven. “That is not an organic investigation. That’s a manufactured political operation. That’s all this is — somebody with an agenda dropped off documents. And that’s all that custodian of records said.”
While never saying the lawmaker’s name, DeSantis also accused Andrade of having a “political agenda to try to smear Hope Florida, to try to smear people associated with the administration, even my wife, who’s done a great job for this state of Florida by the way, not just on Hope Florida.”
Andrade spent weeks scrutinizing the foundation’s receipt of $10 million as part of a $67 million legal settlement that Centene, Florida’s largest Medicaid managed-care company, reached last year with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
After receiving the money from the settlement, the foundation gave $5 million grants to Secure Florida’s Future, a nonprofit tied to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Save our Society from Drugs.
The groups within days made contributions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee headed by James Uthmeier, who was then Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff and is now attorney general. Keep Florida Clean fought a proposed constitutional amendment in November that would have allowed recreational use of marijuana.
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At least part of the scrutiny involves whether the $10 million should have gone to the state but was diverted to the outside groups.
Contacted Tuesday by The News Service of Florida, Andrade did not say whether Campbell’s office is conducting a criminal probe into the records he provided.
“I’m not in a position to comment on what law enforcement is or isn’t doing. I’m convinced that crimes occurred and I believe those engaged in public corruption should face justice. Whether they ever face justice is up to law enforcement,” Andrade, an attorney, said in a text message.
Campbell, state attorney in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which covers Leon, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Liberty and Wakulla counties, declined to comment Tuesday.
Casey DeSantis is closely identified with the Hope Florida program, which operates through numerous state agencies and, in part, serves as a referral service to churches and other private entities that can offer assistance to families seeking aid. She is widely mentioned as a potential candidate for governor in 2026, when her husband faces term limits.
“There is no basis to do an investigation on these facts,” the governor said Wednesday. “Everybody knows it. Everybody knows that this is political. And I can tell you, she is more determined than ever to make a difference in the lives (of people) with Hope Florida. I’m more committed to Hope Florida than I’ve ever been.”
News Service senior writer Dara Kam contributed to this report.
