Maxwell: DeSantis orders Orlando Sentinel to stop investigating his scandal. That's not happening.
Welcome to the 'Free State of Florida,' where the governor feels free to live out authoritarian fever dreams surrounded by staff who are apparently unwilling to tell Mao ZeRon that emporers can't control journalism in this country.
Just after noon on Friday, Florida's Department of Children and Families issued what it labeled a 'cease and desist' demand that Sentinel reporter Jeff Schweers stop his reporting efforts after saying it had 'heard' that Jeff might be 'threatening or coercing' foster families in Florida.
There was no proof. No specifics. The letter wasn't even signed by anyone — maybe because no reputable attorney would put their name on a document that looked like it was written by a Twitter bot trying to cosplay as a lawyer.
It was just an anonymous, undocumented claim that someone had heard something about harassment, which the governor then tweeted along with the comment: 'Bottom feeders gonna bottom feed…'
The governor's tweet — which included Jeff's email address — prompted the kind of online reaction DeSantis surely expected. One of the governor's followers called for Jeff to be arrested. Others responded to the governor's name-calling with more name-calling, either opting for antisemitism or just blanket statements like: 'Journos are some the worst people alive. Scum of the earth.'
By this point, you might be wondering: So what did Jeff do? Well, for months now, he's been trying to track down how the DeSantis administration has been spending money — some of it public, some of it private donations that are supposed to be carefully accounted for the IRS. That apparently scared the hell out of the governor and his staff.
Specifically, Jeff was trying to find out what happened to public money given to the beleaguered Hope Florida program championed by Ron and Casey DeSantis. And Jeff isn't the only one. Legislative Republicans have flat-out said they believe crimes were committed. A prosecutor is looking at the issue as well.
But apparently Jeff was getting too close to the truth for comfort. So the DeSantis administration bogusly claimed he was 'threatening' foster families and ordered him to stop his reporting.
Well, that ain't gonna happen. As the Sentinel's executive editor, Roger Simmons said: 'We stand by our stories and reject the state's attempt to chill free speech and encroach on our First Amendment right to report on an important issue.'
Editorial: Intimidation won't make the Sentinel back down on Hope Florida story
Reporting, after all, is what newspapers do. We search for answers. And Jeff has been doing it for years.
In fact, before he started working for the Sentinel a few years ago, Jeff worked for the Tallahassee Democrat where he investigated scandalous behavior by Andrew Gillum.
Gillum, as you may recall, was the Democratic candidate for governor against … wait for it … Ron DeSantis.
And some of Jeff's reporting was so damning to Gillum that the stories generated by Jeff and his colleagues were used by the DeSantis campaign to help DeSantis eke out a 0.4% victory.
So to recap: When newspapers investigate a Democrat, everyone should pay attention. But if they investigate DeSantis, it's bottom-feeding that needs to be shut down.
The latest scandal involves Hope Florida — the moniker for both a state program and affiliated private charity that the DeSantises have championed. The couple say the programs have been successful at getting struggling citizens off welfare. But GOP legislators (yes, lawmakers from the governor's own party) say they believe public money was inappropriately 'laundered' to political causes and campaigns.
For journalists, a common mantra is: Follow the money. But that's been particularly challenging in this story that involves two entities by the same name, money transfers and incomplete financial records.
Maxwell: Scandals for Dummies. Breaking down the Hope Florida fiasco
It has been my experience that, when financial stories are complicated, that's often intentional. Someone doesn't want you to follow the money. But Jeff and other Florida reporters have kept on digging. And that's what has the DeSantis administration nervous.
Last month, Jeff tracked down one of the few, specific people Hope Florida had touted as a success story for being weaned off public assistance only to learn that she appeared 'no better off than she was. She lives with her three youngest daughters in a double-wide mobile home … not working, and she and her children are still on Medicaid … just as they were three years ago.'
Financial independence eludes Hope Florida 'graduate' 3 years later
This week, Jeff combed through IRS records to learn that a golf-tournament fundraiser staged by the Hope Florida Foundation actually reported losing $17,000 — only to have the foundation's attorney say that the foundation would soon be filing an amended report. How fortuitous for the charity that Jeff was able to help it sort out its finances.
Hope Florida Foundation to amend tax return to show golf tourney made more money
And those are just the stories Jeff was able to ferret out with access to limited records. He said he's still waiting for the state to provide specific details about how it spent more than $20 million in federal relief funds — a request he filed back in October 2024
If Hope Florida looks like a three-alarm dumpster fire right now, one wonders how many alarms would go off if journalists and the public ever get to see the full financial picture.
To that end, when the governor of America's third-largest state took to Twitter to try to debase and bully, Jeff responded with a pretty simple, nine-word question:
'Why not respond to my numerous public records requests?'
The answer to that is becoming increasingly obvious. Because the more the facts get out, the worse things look for DeSantis. So the state's top elected official is trying to use all the influence he can to stop journalists from even asking questions.
smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com
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