U.S. President Donald Trump introduces Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during a homecoming campaign rally on the BB&T Center on November 26, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. President Trump continues to campaign for re-election within the 2020 presidential race.Â
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A professional-Trump super PAC on Wednesday said it’s filing an ethics grievance against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing him of waging a “shadow presidential campaign” in violation of state ethics and election laws.
A 15-page draft letter from Make America Great Again Inc. asks the Florida Commission on Ethics to analyze DeSantis, who’s widely expected to be mounting a 2024 presidential bid. He’s seen as former President Donald Trump’s biggest competition within the Republican primary.
If the commission finds DeSantis has violated Florida laws, it should impose the “most severe penalties permitted” — including disqualifying him from the ballot, the letter argued.
“Governor DeSantis knows, or should know, that his shadow presidential campaign is unlawful under federal election law, Florida ethics laws prohibiting illegal gifts from political committees, and Florida ethics laws prohibiting illegal lobbying payments,” it said.
The letter was reported by NBC News earlier Wednesday.
The grievance was the newest escalation of the previous president’s attacks on his likely rival. While other GOP rivals to Trump have either launched or hinted at presidential bids, DeSantis has garnered essentially the most support amongst Trump alternatives in early primary polls.
DeSantis’ office brushed off the salvo from Trump’s allies.
“Adding this to the list of frivolous and politically motivated attacks,” Communications Director Taryn Fenske said in a press release to CNBC. She added, “It’s inappropriate to make use of state ethics complaints for partisan purposes.”
The Florida ethics commission didn’t provide a comment on the letter.
The broadside comes as DeSantis has authored a latest political memoir and launched into a multistate tour to put it up for sale, two of various clear signs the governor is preparing a run for national office.
MAGA Inc.’s letter references that “personally lucrative book tour” because it alleges DeSantis and his associated political committees and allies have improperly accepted thousands and thousands of dollars in gifts which might be “clearly intended” to influence his eventual resignation as governor and campaign for president.
DeSantis’ book currently tops The Recent York Times’ Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction.
DeSantis is predicted to carry off on announcing his presidential plans until after the Florida Legislature ends its current session in May.
However the letter argues that DeSantis is already a de facto presidential candidate, and his reluctance to make it official is “no mere oversight.” Quite, it’s “a coordinated effort specifically designed for him to simply accept, as unethical gifts, illegal campaign contributions and certain personal advantages which might be necessarily intended to influence his official decision to resign from office under Florida’s resign to run law,” the super PAC alleged.
That law requires officerholders to resign from their current position to be able to run for an additional post if the 2 terms would overlap.
Five of the nine members of the Florida ethics commission were appointed by DeSantis, including Chairman Glenton Gilzean, to whom the letter is addressed.
