Whistleblower Claims DeSantis Staffers Are Blocking The Release Of His Travel Records

A whistleblower who was fired from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says that staffers from Ron DeSantis' office have been improperly blocking requests for the release of DeSantis' travel records. The Florida state legislature passed a law recently to shield those records from release, but it doesn't cover everything. The staffer says that she and several others were fired after raising concerns over the blocking, which could reveal that DeSantis is using state funds to campaign for president. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins explains what's happening.

Check out our merch by visiting our store

Subscribe to our podcast

Become a member today!

Support us by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon, and help keep progressive media alive!

Spread the word! LIKE and SHARE this video or leave a comment to help direct attention to the stories that matter. And SUBSCRIBE to stay connected with Ring of Fire's video content!

Support Ring of Fire by subscribing to our YouTube channel

Be sociable! Follow us on:

*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

The DeSantis administration down here in the state of Florida has found themselves in a very uncomfortable position, and they tried to avoid this uncomfortable position earlier this year when the Republican controlled Florida State legislature voted to end decades of open records laws here in the state of Florida in order to shield Ron DeSantis travel records, not just from the public, but from the media, and apparently, possibly even from law enforcement in the state. And that's created some problems. According to a whistleblower with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, they actually tried to release some of Ron DeSantis travel records following a Freedom of Information Act request from the Washington Post. Now, the whistleblower was with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. There was another woman with her at the time, uh, a lawyer, and they said, listen, we understand there's this new law that says we can't release these records, but look, we got some records here.

You know, they're, they're, they're older. Like there's no reason we can't release these. The media's asking for 'em, you know, they're filing these requests. We should honor it because if we don't, by the way, we're gonna get sued. So there's no harm in this. Let's just do it. Rhon DeSantis staffers, according to a report from the Washington Post, fired back and said, no, absolutely not. And that's when things started to get bad, because the whistleblower who was about to get a promotion then had her promotion, according to her, blocked by the DeSantis administration, she went to go seek whistleblower protection, and that was denied by the state's government, then she was fired. So story kind of tells itself right there, right? But here's the thing. The Republicans in this state are shielding Ron DeSantis travel records, not because of security concerns, not because, oh, something bad could happen if we release these.

It's because the dude has been crisscrossing the country for a year and a half now running for president, even though his official campaign didn't launch until May, uh, after they passed the law. Of course, you know, let's make sure we get that in place before he officially runs, and they don't want us to see who's paying for what. It's as simple as that. It's Ron DeSantis using my tax dollars to run for president of the United States. And that's the answer by the way, that the media outlets want to know, not based on just my tax dollars, but the tax dollars to everybody here in Florida. They wanna know if this man is abusing the state in order to run for president and Republicans in Tallahassee down here, our state capitol said, you can't know that the DeSantis administration is telling law enforcement. They can't know that. And if

You try to say they should know it like this whistleblower did, we're going to punish you, we're going to come after you. Now, this woman that was fired, denied the promotion and all of that. She's got a very strong lawsuit on her hands, and I imagine if she hasn't already, she is going to file one. And maybe it'll all come out on the wash, but it could be years before that happens. But I think by the time all this is over, we will know everything. And there's little doubt in my mind that Ron DeSantis is using our money to run for president. And if I'm wrong, prove me wrong by releasing those records.