That stink you’re smelling is DeSantis’ money problem
Ron DeSantis has a money problem. Not a lack of cash. More like a stench from money he’s getting and the manner he’s raising it, both reflected in two stories reported over the past two months:
The Miami Herald first reported on Oct. 9 that DeSantis’ political committee had received a $50,000 donation in 2018 from two South Florida men — one born in Ukraine, the other in Belarus — who have since been charged with federal campaign finance violations. (After the revelations, DeSantis ordered the money returned.)
Oh, the men also were assisting Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in his quest for damaging information about political enemies.
What followed was textbook evasion by DeSantis and his people.
The governor’s spokeswoman, Helen Ferré, initially downplayed any connection between the men, who are American citizens, and the candidate. “They may have attended some large events related to the 2018 elections,” she told the Herald.
“I’d be surprised if the governor said anything other than ‘Hello,’” added Joe Gruters, a state senator and chairman of the Florida Republican Party. “I doubt he even took a picture with these guys.”
Imagine Gruters’ surprise a few days later when the Tampa Bay Times trotted out pictures video showing DeSantis giving those guys hugs during a celebration the night DeSantis won the race for governor.
Only then did DeSantis acknowledge that the pair weren’t total strangers.
“I knew Parnas,” DeSantis said. “I didn’t know the other guy as much.”
The guy he knew is Lev Parnas, who, as Politico reported after DeSantis’ acknowledgement, showed up at back-to-back campaign rallies for DeSantis just before the election, one in South Daytona and the other in Boca Raton.
It’s unclear if Parnas flew from one event to the other on DeSantis’ plane or on a different plane being used — naturally — by Giuliani. Whether Parnas was strapped into a seat next to DeSantis or riding with Rudy, the fact they ended up at two rallies on the same day is no coincidence.
This follows September’s revelations by the Tampa Bay Times that DeSantis’ political committee — Friends of Ron DeSantis — had developed a shopping list for meeting opportunities with the governor or his wife.
The price of a private round of golf with the gov, for example, was $100,000. Not something the average Floridian could afford but chump change for, say, a superwealthy donor whose motives for draining a swamp involve building condos there.
The plan was particularly mercenary, finding creative ways to make money off gubernatorial duties. Travel outside of Tallahassee could be parlayed into quick, profitable meetings with “high net-worth donors,” according to one memo obtained by the Times.
The former head of DeSantis’ political committee, Susan Wiles, was indignant when asked about the plan, telling a Times reporter, “It would be false and grossly unfair to Gov. DeSantis to assume that any of the ideas proposed in this memo were ever implemented.” This is Wiles talking about a plan that came from the committee while was in charge.
Those two examples smell like broccoli gone bad, and the stink could start clinging to a governor who is enjoying bipartisan support and goodwill after eking out a win over his Democratic opponent last year. Morning Consult found DeSantis had an approval rating of 58 percent at the end of September, but his disapproval rating was starting to creep north.
DeSantis is enjoying some blue support because he’s willing to cross ideological lines, particularly on environmental policy. Where the previous administration was prohibited from uttering the words “climate change,” DeSantis hired a czar to work on that which Rick Scott would not name.
We don’t expect every campaign to know the origin story of every donation they get, nor the revelations about donors that might come later.
In this case, however, it’s hard to believe that DeSantis’ entire campaign apparatus was blissfully unaware of Parnas and his associate, Igor Fruman, especially considering they keep popping up in photos like something out of a Where’s Waldo book.
Just as suspicious are the attempts at misdirection by the administration. For example, Ferré told the Miami Herald earlier this month that DeSantis had not met with Parnas and Fruman. On Tuesday, however, DeSantis wouldn’t comment on whether he met with them.
DeSantis is still early in his term as governor. So far, we’ve seen his good side (caring about the environment) and his bad side (signing genuinely awful bills last session).
When it comes to money in politics — and trustworthiness — we’re not seeing the good side of Florida’s governor at the moment.