![]() The critics painted those prosecutors as agents of George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor, and as giving rise to a scourge of crime. Right-wing pundits and podcasters had for years railed against local prosecutors elected on platforms promising alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent crimes or avoiding the death penalty. The topic was not on the meeting’s agenda, but it hardly came out of the blue. DeSantis abruptly asked a pointed question: Did they know of any prosecutors in the state who weren’t enforcing the law? Midway through a meeting with his closest advisers in December 2021, Mr. DeSantis and Disney, the governor has gained control of the board that oversees development at Walt Disney World, a move that restricts the autonomy of Disney over its theme-park complex. Rift with Disney: In the latest development in the battle between Mr.Legislative Wish List: Florida lawmakers are advancing Mr.DeSantis’s agenda on matters including immigration, gun rights and education, giving the governor a broader platform from which to launch a widely expected presidential campaign.But a review of the episode reveals just how fueled it was by the governor’s political aims. A Politicized Removal: When the governor ousted a Democratic prosecutor last year, he cast his decision as a bold move to protect Floridians.Ron DeSantis drew swift condemnations from establishment Republicans after he declared that defending Ukraine against Russia’s invasion was not a vital U.S. Ron DeSantis and His Administration The Republican governor of Florida has turned the swing state into a right-wing laboratory by leaning into cultural battles. Warren, who is appealing in state and federal court.) (The judge said he did not have the authority to reinstate Mr. DeSantis’s office, the judge said from the bench, had conducted a “one-sided inquiry” meant to target Mr. Warren’s First Amendment rights and the Florida Constitution in a rush to judgment. DeSantis’s move was cheered in the conservative news media as a victory in his war on “wokeness,” a federal judge ruled in January that the governor had violated Mr. “Ron DeSantis is the man who put an end to it today in the state of Florida,” Mr. Carlson opened with a 12-minute speech about prosecutors who disregard the law, then turned to an exclusive interview with the governor. The governor’s aides gave special attention to news outlets they referred to as “friendly.” Immediately after the news conference, DeSantis aides exerted influence over communications at the state attorney’s office, an independent county agency, working to ensure that the takeover did not result in negative coverage.Īnd that night, the governor headlined Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to promote his move. And those plans were executed with military precision. Warren was cursory at best, the preparation to remove him while simultaneously publicizing that ouster involved greater planning. Warren’s office that might help justify Mr. Warren was removed did the governor’s aides seek records from Mr. DeSantis and his lawyers dismissed or ignored it, the records show. When contrary information did materialize, Mr. Warren too closely, so that they would not tip him off and prompt him to reverse his policies - thwarting the goal of making an example of him. Under oath, his aides later acknowledged that they had deliberately avoided investigating Mr. DeSantis had ordered his staff to find progressive prosecutors who were letting criminals walk free. Warren as a rogue ideologue whose refusal to enforce the law demanded action.īut a close examination of the episode, including interviews, emails, text messages and thousands of pages of government records, trial testimony, depositions and other court records, reveals a sharply different picture: a governor’s office that seemed driven by a preconceived political narrative, bent on a predetermined outcome, content with a flimsy investigation and focused on maximizing media attention for Mr. Warren as an example of the muscular and decisive way he has transformed Florida - and could transform the nation. DeSantis repeatedly points to his ouster of Mr. Warren’s policies had done harm, according to internal documents and testimony.Īs he travels the country promoting a new book and his expected presidential campaign, Mr. DeSantis’s lawyers lamented that they could find nothing in them to support the idea that Mr. In fact, just the day before, writing in blue pen on a draft of an executive order, the governor had personally removed any mention of crime statistics justifying Mr.
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