Florida Bar dismisses complaints against Miami mayor, former city attorney
The Florida Bar has dismissed a pair of complaints that former City Commissioner Ken Russell filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former City Attorney Victoria Méndez accusing them of 'misconduct' relating to legislation that the city passed in 2022 finalizing the billion-dollar Miami Freedom Park soccer stadium deal.
The crux of Russell's complaints involved a piece of legislation the mayor signed in 2022 after the City Commission voted to award a 99-year lease to David Beckham and businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas to develop Miami Freedom Park on the site of the former Melreese golf course. The stadium will become the home of the Inter Miami team.
The deal needed four-fifths approval from the City Commission, and Russell agreed to be the swing vote after his colleagues agreed to an amendment requiring half of the $20 million parks contribution from the Miami Freedom Park developers to be spent on parks throughout the city. The other half was to be spent on a 58-acre public park attached to the stadium site.
But the legislation that Suarez signed finalizing the commission vote did not include Russell's amendment. Méndez was the city attorney at the time of the 2022 vote. The City Attorney's Office oversees City Commission legislation.
The discrepancy came to a head last month when Suarez announced a proposal to ensure the entire $20 million parks contribution could be spent exclusively on the park attached to the stadium site.
Russell filed the complaints against Suarez and Méndez, who are both practicing lawyers, on Feb. 25. Nine days later, on March 6, an attorney for the Florida Bar wrote in letters addressed to Russell that the issues raised 'are political questions beyond The Florida Bar's jurisdiction and therefore not reviewable by the bar.'
'Appropriate remedies, if any, can be sought through the political process and/or the courts,' the letters stated.
The Bar attorney added that the contents of Russell's complaints 'do not constitute violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, and accordingly, your inquiry does not fall within the purview of the grievance system framework.'
On Tuesday, Russell filed official paperwork to run for mayor of Miami in the 2025 election. In a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday, Suarez — who will leave office later this year because of term limits — took aim at Russell's candidacy.
'As I predicted,' Suarez said, 'the Florida Bar dismissed the complaint almost as fast as Ken Russell could file to run for his next failed office.'
Reached by the Miami Herald, Suarez declined to comment beyond his public post.
In a statement, Méndez said: 'I obviously concur with the Florida Bar's finding that no violation of the Florida Rules of Professional conduct took place, and I am pleased with the result.'
Russell said in a statement that through its dismissal, the Florida Bar 'has decided that a lawyer preparing a misrepresentative legal document for another lawyer who signs that misrepresentative document is a political issue outside their purview. As usual, there is no accountability for unethical behavior in the City of Miami.'
'The greatest shame is that the Mayor's actions have defunded over 100 acres of desperately needed new park space in the city,' Russell added. 'This was no accident or oversight and it is inexcusable. Whether this decision was legal or political, it's wrong. I won't stop until those parks are properly funded and built.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Legal Experts File Complaint Against Pam Bondi, Citing 'Serious' Misconduct, Trump Bias
Roughly 70 law professors, attorneys and justices filed an ethics complaint against Attorney General Pam Bondi with the Florida Bar on Thursday, accusing her of 'serious professional misconduct' and political bias in favor of President Donald Trump. The complaint alleges that the former Florida attorney general has worked to weaponize the Department of Justice by threatening department lawyers with discipline or termination if they fail 'to zealously pursue the President's political objectives.' DOJ lawyers say Bondi and her staff have pressured them into 'violating their ethical obligations' and doing things they are 'ethically forbidden from doing.' This has resulted in 'serious professional misconduct that threatens the rule of law and the administration of justice,' states the complaint, obtained by HuffPost and first reported by the Miami Herald. Francisco Digon-Greer, counsel for the Florida Bar, dismissed the complaint in a letter on Friday, saying the institution does not 'investigate or prosecute sitting officers appointed under the U.S. Constitution while they are in office.' 'Such proceedings by The Florida Bar, as an arm of the Florida Supreme Court, could encroach on the authority of the federal government concerning these officials and the exercise of their duties,' his letter read. Dozens of legal experts, including retired Florida Supreme Court justices Barbara J. Pariente and Peggy A. Quince, had signed the complaint, which demanded an investigation and sanctions against Bondi. It was the third complaint the group has filed against Bondi, and the third denied due to her current employment status. Possibly anticipating another rejection, the complaint's authors said Thursday that states are responsible for overseeing who can practice law in their respective jurisdictions and disciplining them. 'The Rules not only require that lawyers who are public officials are accountable for their ethical conduct, but they specifically declare that lawyers who are public officials have a higher duty than other lawyers to maintain ethical standards,' they argued, citing the Florida Bar's rules of professional conduct. 'Nowhere in the Rules or Comments is there an exemption for lawyers who are federal public officials.' The complaint cites 'three glaring examples' as evidence of Bondi's alleged misconduct, including the April firing of immigration lawyer Erez Reuveni. Reuveni was terminated after telling a judge that the government's deportation of migrant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to El Salvador was made in 'error.' He was ousted, the complaint states, 'for telling the truth.' It also cites the 'forced resignation' of federal prosecutor Denise Cheung in February after she declined Trump officials' request to open a criminal investigation into a government contractor 'because there was insufficient predication.' The third example is the DOJ's efforts to dismiss New York City Mayor Eric Adams' criminal indictment without prejudice. Nearly a dozen lawyers who objected to the DOJ's proposal, calling it an improper 'quid pro quo,' were either forced to resign or resigned after being placed on administrative leave, the complaint states. A DOJ official dismissed the complaint as meritless to HuffPost. 'The Florida Bar has twice rejected performative attempts by these out-of-state lawyers to weaponize the bar complaint process against AG Bondi,' DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle said in a statement. 'This third vexatious attempt will fail to do anything other than prove that the signatories have less intelligence — and independent thoughts — than sheep.' Bondi, a staunch Trump loyalist, served as a special adviser to the president during his first impeachment and supported his efforts to deny his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. During her confirmation hearing in January, she refused to acknowledge his defeat. Since her appointment as the nation's top attorney, Bondi has sided with Trump on every controversial and constitutionally questionable order and has publicly vowed to 'root out' anyone within the DOJ and FBI 'who despise Donald Trump.' Bondi presented herself as an independent prosecutor during her Jan. 15 Senate confirmation hearing, saying that 'politics will not play a part' in deciding whom to investigate and that she would exercise independent judgment. 'Politics has to be taken out of this system,' she said. 'This department has been weaponized for years and years and years, and it has to stop.' Trump on Wednesday ordered Bondi and other federal officials to investigate the Biden administration and his predecessor's health while in office. Pam Bondi Locks Bar Association Out Of Vetting Trump's Judicial Nominees 150 Former Judges Condemn Trump, Tell Pam Bondi They're Not 'Deranged' 'Daily Show' Unloads On Pam Bondi's 'Bulls**t' Trump Claim: 'You Sound High As F**k!' Pam Bondi Rolls Back Protections For Journalists In New DOJ Memo
The Hill
2 days ago
- The Hill
The Hill's Headlines - June 6, 2025
ADMINISTRATION Elon Musk offers sign of peace after public feud; Trump is not interested, White House officials say INTERNATIONAL A Russian missile and drone attack across Ukraine kills 3 in the capital Kyiv BUSINESS US added 139k jobs in May, in line with expectations COURT BATTLES AG Pam Bondi accused of 'serious professional misconduct' in Florida Bar complaint STATE WATCH A fire guts 3 multi-story residential buildings in San Francisco, CA
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Sarwar says surprise by-election win could help Labour back to power at Holyrood
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party's shock victory in a Holyrood by-election could help propel him into power next year – as he declared he wants to 'gain scores of seats across the country' in a bid to defeat the SNP. Mr Sarwar and his party celebrated in the early hours of Friday morning after Labour's Davy Russell was elected as the new MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, winning the seat from the SNP. With the votes showing a swing of more than 7% from the SNP to Labour, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday the result showed people have 'voted for change'. The by-election had been held following the death earlier this year of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie. When the votes were counted, Mr Russell polled 8,559, SNP candidate Katy Loudon took 7,957 votes, while Reform's Ross Lambie secured 7,088. And although Mr Russell was elected with fewer votes than Labour secured in the seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP's support fell from just over 46% of all ballots then to 29.35% in the by-election. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice insisting they were 'delighted' with coming third – despite speculation prior to the count that they could come in second or may even pull off a surprise victory. Labour's win came after Scotland's First Minister John Swinney – who made numerous campaign visits to the area – had declared the contest to be a 'two-horse race' between the SNP and Nigel Farage's Reform. But speaking at a media event in Hamilton on Friday morning, Mr Sarwar accused the SNP leader of running a 'disgraceful' campaign. Mr Sarwar also insisted the by-election could 'help lead the way' to him becoming Scotland's next first minister in the May 2026 Holyrood elections. The Scottish Labour leader said he believed the victory to be 'even more significant' than the party's win in the nearby Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in October 2023 – which he said had been key in helping to secure Labour's general election win in July last year. Mr Sarwar declared: 'I think in some ways this by-election result is even more significant than the Rutherglen by-election result two years ago. 'It is right to say, I believe, the result in Rutherglen helped lead the way in helping to elect a UK Labour Government and I also believe the by-election result here will help lead the way to elect a Scottish Labour government next year.' Looking ahead to that election, Mr Sarwar told the PA news agency: 'I want us to gain scores of seats across the country so we can remove this SNP government from office.' He went on to accuse Mr Swinney of running a 'disgraceful campaign' in the by-election, saying that despite the SNP having been in power for 18 years, 'the best he had to offer was 'vote SNP to stop Farage''. And while Reform UK came in third in the by-election, Mr Sarwar said Mr Farage's party could not win the Scottish Parliament elections. He insisted: 'Nigel Farage is not standing to be first minister. 'It is a straight choice – it is either going to be John Swinney, or it's going to be me.' The Scottish Labour leader continued: 'The choice is stark next year. Our Parliament is not about protests, our election is not about protest, it is about choosing a government here in Scotland. 'The choice is stark – a third decade of the SNP with John Swinney as first minister or a new direction for Scotland with me as first minister.' However, Mr Tice told BBC Radio 4's that the result in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse was 'truly remarkable'. He said: 'We've come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal, and we're within 750 votes of winning that by-election and just a few hundred votes of defeating the SNP, so it's an incredible result.' Mr Swinney, meanwhile, said the SNP was 'clearly disappointed' with the result. The party leader said Labour had 'won by an absolute landslide' in Rutherglen and Hamilton West – noting the SNP 'came much closer' this time round. But he added: 'The people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have made clear that we still have work to do. 'Over the next few days, we will take time to consider the result fully.'
