News : POLITICO Florida Playbook: Bracing for a day of search warrant drama

Friday, August 12, 2022

POLITICO Florida Playbook: Bracing for a day of search warrant drama

Aug 12, 2022

Hello and welcome to Friday.

Coming attractions — Well, so there's a chance that sometime today part of the mystery surrounding the search of former President Donald Trump's Florida home will finally be revealed.

In the midnight hour — Trump late last night posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he will go along with the Justice Department's request to unseal the search warrant that was filed in court on Thursday.

Promises — "Not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the unAmerican, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago, I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents," Trump wrote.

Release the documents — Trump's comments came at the end of a whirlwind day that saw Attorney General Merrick Garland defend the actions of the FBI and acknowledge that he personally approved going ahead with the warrant — which was submitted to and OK'd by a federal magistrate judge. Hours later the Washington Post reported that some of the documents in question may have had to do with nuclear weapons.

No response so far — Some Florida Republicans had been sharply critical of DOJ and the search of Trump's property and had demanded answers, including the release of information such as the warrant. But after weighing in several times to decry the search over the last few days, Sen. Marco Rubio has not responded to Garland's decision to ask for the warrant to be released. Nor has Sen. Rick Scott or Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Slamming Rubio — Rep. Val Demings, during a late-night appearance on MSNBC, blasted Rubio and accused him of "throwing law enforcement under the bus" for his comments comparing what happened at Mar-a-Lago to Latin American dictatorships. "It's just irresponsible, it's disgraceful and it's dangerous," said Demings, who cited an incident in Ohio where an armed man wearing body armor tried to get into an FBI office in Cincinnati. Demings then predicted that when it comes to Rubio that "we won't hear anything from him for a while, hopefully."

What's ahead — That's probably not true, but in the next few hours — and days — additional details about the search could come out and with it reverberations for both the 2022 midterms and the 2024 election.

— WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.

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TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP

OK, THEN — Merrick Garland calls Trump's bluff , by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Meredith McGraw: Donald Trump and his allies spent days pounding the Justice Department for executing a search warrant at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate, whipping supporters into a frenzy and exploiting DOJ's characteristic secrecy by telling their own versions of events. Some even developed a rallying cry as they attacked the department: Release the warrant! On Thursday, the Justice Department responded to the deluge with a simple "OK." Then, just before midnight, Trump — who has had a copy of the search warrant since Monday — announced he too supported the release, all but ensuring it is likely to be revealed as soon as Friday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland listens to a question.

Attorney General Merrick Garland listens to a question as he leaves the podium after speaking at the Justice Department Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Washington. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo

NEW DETAILS — " FBI searched Trump's home to look for nuclear documents and other items, sources say ," by Washington Post's Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey, Perry Stein and Shane Harris: "Classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items FBI agents sought in a search of former president Donald Trump's Florida residence on Monday, according to people familiar with the investigation. Experts in classified information said the unusual search underscores deep concern among government officials about the types of information they thought could be located at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club and potentially in danger of falling into the wrong hands."

— " CNN and other news outlets ask court to unseal entire court record related to Mar-a-Lago search ," by CNN's Tierney Sneed

REACTION — " Florida swing voters: Bring on the search warrants ," by Axios' Alexi McCammond: Florida swing voters in our latest Engagious/Schlesinger focus groups said the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago was justified — and that it would be a 'serious crime' if former President Trump did take classified documents from the White House. … Eleven of 12 participants said it was appropriate for the FBI to execute a signed search warrant at the home of the former president — and that it would be a serious crime to take documents from the White House in an unauthorized fashion even if that person previously held the office."

CAREFUL THERE — How the Trump FBI search puts swing-state Republicans in a bind, by POLITICO's Natalie Allison and Holly Otterbein: As news broke that the FBI had searched Donald Trump's Florida home, MAGA loyalists and even some of the former president's potential 2024 rivals rushed to a full-throated defense of the former president. While the FBI search has given a jolt of energy to the conservative base, the issue is proving to be more complicated in pivotal battleground races that could determine control of the chamber — places where Republicans had been hoping to keep the focus on Democrats' economic woes and off of Trump.

— " Trump hires prominent Atlanta attorney for election probe ," by The Associated Press' Kate Brumback

— " Florida man pleads guilty to pushing police in Capitol riot ," by The Associated Press

CAMPAIGN MODE

ANOTHER DEMINGS-RUBIO POLL — The group EMILY's List — which backs female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights — on Thursday released an online poll that showed Rep. Val Demings and Sen. Marco Rubio tied at 46 percent in their race. It's the second straight poll released by those supporting Demings' candidacy this week that shows the race even.

Some details — The poll, which was done with 1,031 likely voters, has a margin of error of plus/minus 3.5 percent. The pollster — Change Research — emphasized in a polling memo that Rubio has higher unfavorable ratings than Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump and that he's underperforming with white women and Republican women. "This new poll shows that Florida voters are more motivated than ever to fire anti-choice extremist Marco Rubio," EMILY's List President Laphonza Butler said in a statement.

Several caveats — The poll relied on a split of 47 percent Republican voters and 40 percent Democratic voters, a nod to a potential red wave. But the share of independent voters — 14 percent — was likely too low. Plus, the survey had only 12 percent Hispanic participation, which is also below the Hispanic share of the electorate in the state. Lastly, as noted in the previous poll released this week, it's not clear if pollsters can get an accurate reading of older voters based on a strictly online poll.

CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP — A Morning Consult/POLITICO poll released on Thursday found that 56 percent of Republican voters would back former President Donald Trump for the president in 2024. The number of GOP voters backing DeSantis was 18 percent, a drop from 23 percent in July.

… Demings reported raising $4.4 million during the month of July for her campaign for U.S. Senate. That's more than double what Rubio raised from July 1 to August 3.

… Rep. Charlie Crist on Saturday will embark on a 10-day "Hope for Florida" statewide get-out-the-vote tour ahead of the Aug. 23 primary for governor. The Crist campaign plans to stop in Jacksonville, Miami, Pensacola, Orlando, Gainesville, and Daytona Beach….

… Rep. Byron Donalds endorsed Anna Paulina Luna in the crowded Republican primary for Florida's 13th Congressional District.

… Communications Workers for America have endorsed Democrat Alan Cohn for Florida's 15th Congressional District.

BY THE NUMBERS — Florida has more than 14.3 million active registered voters according to the latest voter registration numbers posted this week by the Division of Elections. The number reflect those voters who were registered by July 25, the cutoff date ahead of the Aug. 23 primary.

Comparison — The total number of active voters is a little bit lower than it was during the 2020 general election, when there was more than 14.4 million registered. But the current total is higher than the number of active voters who were eligible for the 2020 primary — nearly 13.9 million — and considerably higher than the number of active voters in 2018.

GOP advantage — The latest numbers also show that Republicans now have nearly 229,000 edge over Democrats. That's a jump from May when the GOP had a margin of nearly 176,000 over Democrats. There are 5.19 million Republicans, 4.96 million Democrats and 3.9 million voters with no party affiliation.

ROUND 2 — " Rebekah Jones wants appeal court to keep her on congressional ballot ," by News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders: "Democrat Rebekah Jones asked an appeals court Thursday to put on hold a circuit judge's ruling that disqualified her from running for a Florida Panhandle congressional seat. Jones, a former state Department of Health employee who drew widespread attention when she alleged Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration manipulated COVID-19 data, also asked the 1st District Court of Appeal to quickly consider her underlying appeal of Leon Circuit Judge John Cooper's ruling that she was ineligible to run."

MILLION VOTE THRESHOLD REACHED — With less than two weeks until the Aug. 23 primary, more than 1 million Florida voters have now cast their votes. So far, 987,156 vote-by-mail ballots have been cast for the Aug. 23 primary, according to the latest information on the state Division of Elections website. Of those, 453,603 have come from Democrats and 376,110 have come from registered Republicans. Overall, there are more than 3.11 million mail ballots that have been requested but not yet returned. Of those, more than nearly 1.37 million are held by Democrats and more than 959,000 are with Republicans. Nearly 43,000 have cast their ballots in person during early voting.

— " Election 2022: GOP candidates call for more oil drilling, just not near Florida ," by Orlando Sentinel's Skyler Swisher

— " After all these years in office, Marco Rubio still hasn't figured out how to comply with federal campaign finance laws ," by Florida Bulldog's Dan Christensen

— " Frost congressional ad calls Grayson 'corrupt,' and Bracy 'compromised ,'" by Orlando Sentinel's Steven Lemongello

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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

RESPONSE — Biden administration steps into Florida's fight with higher education accreditation agency , by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury: The U.S. Department of Education this summer introduced new policies for college accreditation that some experts say aim to "kill" a plan devised by Florida Republicans to trigger a breakup between universities and the state's longtime accreditation board. Florida's proposed accreditation overhaul, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-dominated statehouse, appears to have directly influenced federal guidance that now requires schools to gain USDOE approval before switching accreditors.

NEW RULES — Florida bans Medicaid from covering gender-affirming treatments , by POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian: Florida's Medicaid regulator has finalized new rules banning health care providers from billing the taxpayer-funded program for gender-affirming medical treatments, a move that comes as the state has sought to block such therapies for young people. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration on Thursday added new language to the rules governing the state's $36.2 billion Medicaid program. The new rules declare that the program does not cover services for treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures as a treatment for gender dysphoria, which refers to the feelings of discomfort or distress some transgender people experience when their bodies don't align with their gender.

— " Democratic lawmakers call for attorney general investigation into FPL ," by Florida Politics' Renzo Downey

DATELINE D.C.

HOW TO GET TO NO — " Marco Rubio defends vote against CHIPS bill in room full of microchip execs ," by Florida Politics' Scott Powers: "Two weeks after voting against a bill to provide $52.7 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and research, Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio defended his vote in a room full of semiconductor corporate executives. After touring the SkyWater chip plant in Kissimmee, and hearing several executives at a roundtable he empaneled herald the recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, Rubio laid out his objections to the bill, which he said overcame his support for the bill's intention, investing in American technology innovation to compete with China."

PENINSULA AND BEYOND

'BAY COUNTY WAS MORE CORRUPT' — " FBI: Company led by former Florida House speaker bilked 'millions of dollars' for hurricane cleanup ," by Panama City News Herald's Tom McLaughlin: "GAC Contractors, a local company whose top executives include former House Speaker Allan Bense, bilked 'millions of dollars' from local governments in 2018 when it was contracted to clean up debris caused by Hurricane Michael, newly released court documents from an ongoing federal investigation show. The company's top executives, including Bense and its late CEO Derwin White, commanded its crews to visit work sites with equipment but not perform any work, and then billed Bay County, the school district and other government municipalities, federal investigators allege in an affidavit filed with a search warrant carried out last year at the company's headquarters."

Other details — "Federal law enforcement authorities, in the affidavit, said that Bense and White ordered GAC's workers to clean up their own homes or properties and that of other top public officials, including state Sen. George Gainer, Lynn Haven City Attorney Adam Albritton's house and Bay County School Superintendent Bill Husfelt, among others. Bense is not charged in connection with the federal investigation of GAC Contractors."

SUGAR, SUGAR — " Glades residents left behind: Nikki Fried's 'changes' to cane burning served only Big Sugar ," by Palm Beach Post's Antigone Barton and Hannah Morse: "The announcement [Agriculture Commissioner Nikki] Fried made was profoundly misleading on multiple levels, a Palm Beach Post investigation has found. The changes were neither major nor historic. Some reworded existing rules with minor adjustments, and none had binding authority. None addressed objections to the burning that people living closest to the fires had raised for years and that residents had personally brought to her attention."

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried speaks during a news conference.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried speaks during a news conference on Nov. 9, 2021, in Miami. | Lynne Sladky/AP Photo

'THERE IS NO RECORD' — " Transgender sexual assault of girl in middle school bathroom never happened, BPS says ," by Florida Today's Bailey Gallion: "Reports echoed by State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, that a girl was sexually assaulted by a transgender student in a bathroom at Johnson Middle School are false, according to a Brevard Public Schools spokesman. Reports of the alleged incident began circulating on Wednesday. On Thursday, Fine in a letter to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz referenced reports that an unnamed transgender student granted access to the girl's bathroom at the school had allegedly assaulted a female student sometime over the summer. The letter, provided to media around the state, asked Diaz to investigate the case."

'INACCURACIES' — " Escambia school district refutes teacher's account of removal of Black leaders' photos ," by Pensacola News Journal's Colin Warren-Hicks: "Escambia County Public Schools system has concluded an investigation into allegations made by a former exceptional student education teacher that a district employee removed pictures of historic Black American heroes from his classroom walls. In a statement released Thursday, school district officials refuted the allegations made by the teacher, Michael James, and claimed there were 'inaccuracies' in his account of the incident."

— " St. Petersburg City Council nixes rent control for public vote a second time ," by Tampa Bay Times' Colleen Wright

— " Santa Rosa officials look to prohibit abortion clinics through Land Development Code ," by Pensacola News Journal's Alex Miller

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

— " Stab to the heart, history of violence led to arrest of Miami OnlyFans model for murder ," by Miami Herald's David Ovalle: "After OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney fatally stabbed her unarmed boyfriend during a raging domestic dispute in their luxury Miami apartment, police say, she claimed that she'd merely thrown the knife at him, at a distance of over 10 feet. But investigators say that Christian Obumseli's chest wound — slightly downward, penetrating eight centimeters — was just too deep to have been caused by a blade hurled from across the room. The stabbing, they say, was up close and personal."

BIRTHDAYS: Former Rep. Connie Mack IV ... former state Rep. Matt Caldwell … (Saturday) Former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart … (Sunday) Journalist and author Laura Wides-Munoz ... Martin J. Sweet, author and professor ... Sean Miles, principal at the Mayfair Group and a Rick Scott alum.