Epstein fallout heads to Florida

Politico

6 days ago

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.
MAGA stalwarts' refusal to drop their calls for more information about the JEFFREY EPSTEIN investigation has been consuming Washington for weeks — an issue President DONALD TRUMP has worked to move on from.
Police and prosecutors said Epstein sexually abused girls at his mansion in Palm Beach. And though politicos may not have known it, a different Florida location popped into the headlines Tuesday: Tallahassee.
Deputy Attorney General TODD BLANCHE has asked for a meeting with GHISLAINE MAXWELL, the former socialite who was convicted of conspiring with Epstein in his child sex-trafficking scheme. She's serving out her 20-year prison sentence at Tallahassee's low-security Federal Correctional Institution. If DOJ officials meet here, a slew of cameras and MAGA influencers are likely to descend on Florida's capital.
Blanche wants to interview Maxwell about others who possibly engaged in sexual abuse as demands to make more files public continue to rattle the MAGA base.
Until recently, Trump and Republican officials were the ones demanding more information about Epstein, wanting to see a rumored 'client list' and further investigation into whether Epstein's death was a murder and not a suicide, as federal investigators have formally concluded.
Seizing on the frustration, Democrats have begun to focus on the topic, bringing attention to how Trump and Epstein reportedly used to be friends (but apparently not close enough to survive a bankruptcy auction of a Palm Beach estate). Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
More reports have emerged about the Trump-Epstein relationship, including about a birthday card to Epstein which allegedly contained Trump's signature, over which the president sued The Wall Street Journal. Trump has denied the report, and POLITICO has not independently verified the card or its contents. The president's lawsuit against the Journal over the coverage has landed in the courtroom of DARRIN GAYLES in southern Florida.
Adding yet another Sunshine State connection to the whole saga, the WSJ has hired former GOP Sen. GEORGE LEMIEUX, the previous CHARLIE CRIST chief of staff when he was governor, who now works at the Florida firm Gunster Yoakley & Stewart, per POLITICO's Josh Gerstein.
The issue has been creating headaches for Hill Republicans. Up in Washington, the House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday for a motion to subpoena Maxwell to testify, report POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs and Meredith Lee Hill. Then House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON announced he was cancelling Thursday votes to avoid pressure from Democrats to hold procedural votes on releasing more documents about the investigation, per Meredith.
'TRANSLATION: Pres Trump's name is all over the Epstein files and they're TERRIFIED about releasing them,' taunted Rep. DARREN SOTO (D-Fla.) over X.
But other Republicans do agree not enough is out there. Gov. RON DESANTIS has called on the Trump administration to release all the files, adding, 'There were obviously other people involved, and yet no one's been brought to justice.'
The governor signed a bill into law in 2024 to have state grand jury records released from 20-year-old investigations and testimonies. That investigation led to Epstein landing a deal in which he avoided federal charges or extended prison time. For 13 months he was in a Palm Beach county jail where he was regularly allowed to leave.
Where's RON? Gov. DeSantis is holding a press conference at 10 a.m. in Jacksonville with Florida first lady Casey DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.
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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROBE — Florida authorities plan to sweep into 10 to 15 cities and counties over the next few weeks as part of an aggressive new effort to scrutinize local spending.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined the plan Tuesday after new Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and other top state officials said they were going to send officials to inspect spending records of the city of Gainesville and Broward County.
Ingoglia, along with the governor's budget chief and the head of Florida's government efficiency task force, sent letters to the heads of those governments Monday demanding access to key personnel and the physical premises over a two-day period next week. Both of those governments are led by Democratic-controlled commissions.
HARVEY WARD, the mayor of Gainesville, said in response to the audits that 'we're an open book. We are not trying to hide anything.'
— Gary Fineout
HOW SOON IS SOON? DeSantis told reporters Tuesday he is planning to name a new lieutenant governor 'soon' but said he still needs to 'vet people' for the job. The post has been vacant ever since JEANETTE NUÑEZ stepped down in February to become president at Florida International University.
State Sen. JAY COLLINS has been seen as the frontrunner for the appointment, but the governor said there's 'different folks that want it.' He added that 'it'll be soon, but it's not necessarily going to be, you know, today or tomorrow.'
— Gary Fineout
HEARING SCHEDULE FOR 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' — A federal judge has scheduled an Aug. 6 hearing to decide whether to issue an order blocking activities at the newly built immigration detention center in the Everglades.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who took over the case last week, during a Monday status conference declined a request from environmental groups to issue an order immediately.
— Bruce Ritchie
— ''They chained me to the ground': Detainees at Alligator Alcatraz allege harsh punishment by guards,' by Tim Padgett of WLRN.
— 'He was the suspect in brutal Florida Keys murder. Now he's in Alligator Alcatraz,' by David Goodhue of Florida Keys News.
INSIDE STATE-LEASED PROPERTY — State officials leased property back to a company associated with the historically powerful Collier family for less than one-third of its value set by two appraisers, following a controversial land purchase approved last year by the Florida Cabinet.
The lease involves 25,000 acres the state purchased for $122 million in a 2024 deal. A year earlier, then-state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo pushed for $850 million in the 2023-24 state budget that targeted southwest Florida and led to the deal.
DEP Communications Director Alexandra Kuchta said this week that the two reports 'provided an initial framework for negotiations but did not fully reflect current agricultural conditions, including the fact that not all the acreage was in active production at the time of acquisition.'
— Bruce Ritchie
AG INVESTIGATION — 'Vice Mayor Linda Moore is under investigation by the Office of Statewide Prosecution for a 'Pride Tea Dance' — held last month at the Kilted Mermaid, a bar she owns — which may have violated state law concerning sexualized performances in front of children,' reports Treasure Coast Newspapers.
— 'Florida attorney general: Call ICE hotline if your undocumented ex should be deported,' by Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network — Florida.
— 'James Uthmeier joins 17 Attorneys General in legal fight for public prayer in high school sports,' by Drew Dixon of Florida Politics.
— 'FHP arrests immigrant 'wanted for murder in Guatemala' during traffic stop, state says,' by Angie DiMichele of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
POLICE BEATING VIDEO GOES VIRAL — 'A video showing Florida deputies punching and dragging a Black man from his car during a traffic stop has sparked nationwide outrage, with civil rights lawyers accusing authorities of fabricating their arrest report,' writes Jeff Martin of The Associated Press.
TRI-RAIL CASH CRUNCH — South Florida's publicly funded passenger train is expected to run out of money following budget cuts of more than $27 million by the Legislature, reports Chris Persaud of the Palm Beach Post. Current spending will allow the service to keep operating for a couple years, but scheduled improvements won't happen.
BRIGHTLINE ALSO STRUGGLES — Investors are anxious about reports Brightline was going to delay an interest payment, writes Bloomberg's Martin Z. Braun, Reshmi Basu and Eliza Ronalds-Hannon. They have been 'bouncing between Brightline calls and meetings as they try to understand the extent of the stress the company is under, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the conversations are private.
'With the prices of its junk bonds plummeting, some holders of the company's corporate bonds have held conversations with law firms about their options as the company tries to raise new equity and debt and comes under pressure to roll over a $985 million tax-exempt note in August, the people said.'
...HURRICANE HOLE...
FEMA OFFICIAL OUT — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's urban search and rescue unit, KEN PAGUREK, resigned, reports The New York Times' Lisa Friedman, telling colleagues he was 'frustrated by bureaucratic hurdles the Trump administration imposed that delayed the agency's response to deadly flooding in Texas.'
CAMPAIGN MODE
SPECIAL ELECTIONS SET — DeSantis on Tuesday issued executive orders that set special elections later this year for state Senate District 11 and state House District 90. DeSantis last week appointed Ingoglia to the job of chief financial officer creating a vacancy in the state Senate seat. State Rep. JOE CASELLO died last week after suffering a heart attack. The primary election will be held on Sept. 30 while the general election will be held on Dec. 9.
The timeline for these special elections ensures that both seats will be filed before the start of the 2026 legislative session in January.
— Gary Fineout
PRIMARY CHALLENGE — MICHAEL THOMPSON, the former chair of Lee County GOP, has filed to challenge GOP Rep. TIFFANY ESPOSITO, reports Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics.
TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP
DEFUNDING PUBLIC MEDIA — 'Indian River State College — which owns WQCS-FM and stations WQCP, WQJS and WQCO — is bracing for a loss of about $250,000 in federal and state funding, according to a July 21 statement from Chris Puorro, IRSC Public Media associate vice president and general manager. It's about 14 percent of the station's revenue last year,' reports Jack Randall of Treasure Coast Newspapers.
DATELINE D.C.
THE NUMBERS ARE IN — Lobbying Disclosure Act revenue files show that Ballard Partners was the No. 1 firm in terms of revenue during the second quarter of 2025, reports POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko. Ballard Partners earned $20.6 million, compared with $14 million in the first quarter of this year and $4.4 million in the second quarter of last year.
— Rep. RANDY FINE (R-Fla.) secured a spot on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
FLOOD INSURANCE BILL — Rep. BYRON DONALDS introduced a bill Tuesday that would allow people to deduct flood insurance premiums from their taxable income. The Flood Insurance Relief Act was also introduced on the Senate side, by GOP Sens. RICK SCOTT and ASHLEY MOODY of Florida, and would be limited to individuals who have a gross income of $200,000 or people who file jointly making less than $400,000 combined.
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
— 'Roy Black, one of the nation's premier defense lawyers, dies in Coral Gables at 80,' reports the Miami Herald's Jay Weaver.
BIRTHDAYS: Fritz Brogan, co-founder and managing partner of Mission Group and former national chair of Maverick PAC … Charlie Justice, Pinellas County commissioner and former state representative ... Tracie Pough of Ballard Partners, former chief of staff for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.