.png)
3 weeks ago
3
The Hope Florida Foundation was expected to beryllium the benignant of enactment that would assistance Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ wife, Casey, physique her resume for aboriginal governmental aspirations. It’s starting to look similar it’ll descend them, instead. In the latest crook successful the communicative of the charity-turned-trainwreck, a virtual committee gathering for the DeSantis-backed enactment was derailed by trolls who flooded the Zoom telephone with porn and Nazi symbols, according to a report from the Tallahassee Democrat.
The gathering of Hope Florida Foundation’s enactment was scheduled for the greeting of April 17, but, per the Tallahassee Democrat’s account, was rapidly interrupted due to the fact that the members didn’t cognize however to forestall assemblage members from sharing their screens. That led to folks hanging successful the assemblage stealing the show, displaying each sorts of unwanted content. The gathering was paused, and a “technical difficulties – delight basal by” connection was displayed portion the admins tried (and failed) to get a grip connected things earlier ending the matter altogether. When they tried to restart the meeting, it failed because, according to a pop-up connection seen by radical trying to articulation the 2nd attempt, “Host has different gathering successful progress.”
So, astir the “why” of that meeting, which did yet hap six hours aft its scheduled time, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Hope Florida Foundation is successful a spot of blistery water. The organization, which was started by Casey DeSantis to trim authorities spending connected societal payment programs by replacing them with faith-based organizations and non-profits, is astatine the halfway of a probe implicit an allegedly amerciable donation that is rapidly unraveling the committee and adjacent has Ron DeSantis trying to region himself from his wife.
It each started with a suspicious $10 cardinal donation made to Hope Florida, which came from Medicaid attraction relation Centene. That large cheque was portion of a larger $67 cardinal out-of-court colony betwixt the institution and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. According to Politico, Centene was directed to enactment $10 cardinal of that colony straight successful the coffers of Hope Florida Foundation, which whitethorn person amounted to an amerciable transportation of funds that should person gone to the state.
That $10 cardinal was allegedly utilized by Hope Florida to assistance 2 organizations—Save Our Society from Drugs and Secure Florida’s Future—with their efforts to decision a ballot measurement that would person legalized marijuana successful the state, which ultimately failed to garner the 60% support needed to walk past November. Those donations from Hope Florida to the groups were reportedly encouraged by Governor DeSantis’ then-chief of unit James Uthmeier, and, according to the Tampa Bay Times, those 2 groups went connected to marque important donations to the governmental enactment committee controlled by Uthmeier, who was named Florida lawyer general earlier this year.
The web is already beauteous tangled, and that’s conscionable the commencement of it. Republican authorities typical Alex Andrade has accused Uthmeier and Hope Florida of engaging successful fraud and wealth laundering, and they don’t look to person immoderate bully answers for those accusations. In the initially hijacked meeting, Hope Florida president Joshua Hay admitted that helium couldn’t relationship for the $10 cardinal donation, nor what it was utilized for. “We person nary monitoring procedures. We person nary staff,” helium said connected the call.
The processing ungraded appears similar it mightiness enactment an extremity to Casey DeSantis’ governmental ambitions earlier they adjacent start, arsenic it was expected that she would motorboat her ain bid to go Governor of Florida successful 2026 aft her husband’s 2nd word comes to an end. Now, Ron seems similar he’s making definite that it’s lone her vocation that is over. Earlier this week, erstwhile asked astir the concern astatine Hope Florida, DeSantis took the accidental to propulsion his woman nether the autobus and backmost it up conscionable to marque definite helium deed her.
“I truly had nary ownership of this,” helium told the media. “I didn’t devise it. She devised it. She acceptable the vision. She executed the vision.” He did accidental that the enactment has had “positive results,” but that seems similar a cherry connected apical of a crap sundae that helium served to her. Sure seems similar he’s not funny successful being the archetypal man.
That said, being an alleged fraudster is thing but a career-ender successful Florida. Republican Rick Scott was the CEO of a institution that was deed with the biggest good ever for Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and helium managed to triumph not conscionable 2 presumption arsenic Florida’s politician but is inactive representing the authorities successful the US Senate. There’s not overmuch that is genuinely disqualifying down there.
English (US) ·