PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — While in Miami-Dade County, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier did not answer a question about whether or not he had asked the court to keep a grand jury report about $10 million in public tax dollars.
There were allegations that $10 million from a $67 million Medicaid settlement with Centene Corporation were improperly diverted to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity associated with Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis.
“I don’t think anybody cares about this topic any more than the liberal media,” Uthmeier said during a news conference.
Michael Barfield, the executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, strongly disagreed.
“We think this is the most consequential issue in Florida for decades, in terms of the missing $10 million and how it was spent for political purposes,” Barfield told Local 10 News This Week In South Florida’s Glenna Milberg on Sunday.
Barfield said “sourced material” showed there was a grand jury investigation as the nonprofit organization’s investigators were “dancing in the dark” amid the alleged secrecy.
“The attorney general and the governor refuse to answer the question about whether they are attempting to block it,” Barfield told Milberg. “I would also point out that when we moved to intervene into the proceedings that have been sealed, if there were no proceedings, I doubt the judge would have allowed us to intervene in nonexistent proceedings.”
There were questions about the $10 million directed to political committees that opposed a 2024 recreational marijuana amendment.
Uthmeier served as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff before he replaced Ashley Moody, who replaced Marco Rubio as U.S. senator.
The Florida attorney general post will be up for election on Nov. 3.
Uthmeier has been campaigning to run in the Republican primary election on Aug. 18 to run against Steven Leskovich, a longtime attorney.
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