Rep. Crist asks DOJ to investigate DeSantis

[CatWoman]

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether Gov. Ron DeSantis violated federal law when he opened a pop-up vaccine distribution site available exclusively to residents in two of Manatee County's wealthiest zip codes.

Why it matters: The former governor sent a letter to acting U.S. Attorney General Monty Wilkinson on Sunday, complaining that DeSantis is selectively creating vaccine distribution sites "to benefit political allies and donors, over the needs of higher risk communities and existing county waitlists."

Background: Charges of favoritism were widespread last week after the Bradenton Herald reported that a county commissioner worked secretly with DeSantis' office to make 3,000 vaccinations available to residents in the wealthy, mostly-white neighborhood of Lakewood Ranch.
The developer of Lakewood Ranch donated to DeSantis' political campaign.

What they're saying: The writer Stephen King, a Sarasota resident, blasted the governor, tweeting: "It seems possible — likely, even — that Ron DeSantis provided rich, Republican-leaning communities like Lakewood Ranch with priority vaccinations for political gain."

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-tampa-bay-0445954d-669a-444e-99d1-747a4a1d5c30.html?chunk=0&utm_term=fbsocialshare&fbclid=IwAR343oH1oYx4fe9KXdbosHwCgs91RN7OYuL6pZF6lwvL5MEQt0QZVcUDYFI#story0

[patricia92243]

1. He is little Trump and does the things that Trump would do.

[thenelm1]

10. The guy showed he was a low-brow ignoramus when in the House, so...

of course Florida elected him gov. There has to be some leaching of seawater into the Florida water table, or a jobs program for village idjits - how else do you explain the crooks and morons these people keep putting into office?

[rzemanfl]

2. They should look into the situation at The Villages a while back too. n/t

[msfiddlestix]

3. This will be interesting story to follow.

I hope we learn developments on this soon. Of course, that's silly thing for me to say, after all, Republican grifters have been doing this kind of thing forever.. a handful get indicted now and then but a lot of damage done and never really recovered.

[SheilaAnn]

4. I'm in Palm Beach County and except for Publix, vaccine is hard to find and get. We didn't vote red

[msfiddlestix]

5. it just occurred to me, maybe Rep Chris should have kept this on the QT

Avoid publicizing his request to the Justice Dept, for two reasons mainly.

First, he's giving a heads up for the crime to be covered up, and second it'll become "politicized" immediately. Used by the Rethugs as a hammer against Dems for seeking justice on our "perceived enemies"..

[OAITW r.2.0]

7. Agreed, if he was serious, he ought to be informing Garland's future RICO crime task force.

Getting ahead of the story for no good reason, now.

[msfiddlestix]

8. Right. That's exactly how I think of it.

I wonder if the story was leaked on purpose, or he announced it.. bottom line it shouldn't have been made public.

Now, because he did make public, Garland is not likely to pursue this or put it on the top 10 of the must do list. which would be understandable but unfortunate.

[OAITW r.2.0]

6. DeSantis is an old style governor.

1730's style. You have a kingdom, but are actually just a steward for the King.

[Thunderbeast]

9. Quell Supris!