TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Pornographic images and racial slur suddenly concluded a virtual Hope Florida Foundation meeting Thursday morning.
Board members then reunited for an hour and 30 minutes late afternoon. The foundation oversees Florida’s charitable hopes, founded by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
Who is FSU shooter Phoenix Echner, Florida vice-chairman?
It is her signature welfare assistance program. The First Lady is also considering the governor’s run.
Foundation committee chair Joshua Hay is trying to avoid further scrutiny of the program from state legislators after the red flag was collected with a $10 million donation. He told the foundation his plan as a chair moving forward.
“We will work with CPA companies to review future monitoring procedures and, from a retrospective perspective, we will see the possibility of callbacks if there is illegal use of funds,” Hay said.
The board of directors will meet monthly. At the next meeting, they are going to discuss employment staff, grant approval, audit completion, and funding thresholds for the employment of new executive directors. Executive Director Eric Delenback has announced his resignation to become CEO of another organization.
State Senator Alex Andrade is leading a survey on Republican-led hope Florida. He discovered that healthcare administrations have given First Lady Signature Charities $10 million from a larger Medicaid settlement.
From there, Grant was given to two nonprofit organizations. It’s about saving our society from drugs and the safe future of Florida in the Florida Chamber. Andredo said he told Hope Florida that Florida funds would not be used for political purposes.
Lawmakers then said records recorded that the organizations became accounts of the Florida Republicans and the Freedom Fund Political Action Committee in Florida, and that they eventually donated money immediately for the Political Action Committee run by Florida Attorney General James Usmierer. The PAC’s purpose was to combat the citizen-led legalization of recreational marijuana.
Earlier this week, during a hearing in Tallahassee, Andredo asked Hey about the money path that was meant to help low-income residents.
“I don’t want to express my opinion on what I think is appropriate, respecting you and respecting the Speaker,” Hay said.
There is growing pressure from Republicans and Democrats to provide answers for Uthmeier. Nikki Fried, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, held a virtual press conference on Thursday.
“As the Florida scandal unfolds, we see a clear pattern of corruption coming out of the governor’s office. At the heart of this, it seems that Attorney General James Usmier, the state’s top law enforcement officer, is the newly elected Attorney General,” Fried said. “This money laundering scheme is becoming apparent as an organized plot to defeat Amendment 3 and advance political ambitions.”
Last week at a press conference in Orlando, the Attorney General was asked about his hopes about the Florida donation controversy.
“If some of these organizations were already actively in the fight to oppose dangerous constitutional reforms, and they allowed recreational marijuana to be used everywhere, that’s fine either,” Uthmeier said.
Evan Power, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, issued a statement Thursday.
“The Florida Republican Party (RPOF) does not accept contributions from Hope Florida or the Hope Florida Foundation. All contributions received by RPOF are accepted in accordance with state and federal laws and will be used to fund RPOF programs and activities determined solely by RPOF.”
Andrede posted on X, but Florida should consider taking two nonprofits with millions of donations to the court.
