Florida AG Opens Investigation Into Mike Bloomberg ‘For Potentially Engaging In Bribery And Vote Buying’
It’s about to get real.
Florida AG Moody opens investigation into Bloomberg’s pledge to help felons pay debts
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has opened an investigation into Michael Bloomberg’s pledge to spend $16 million to pay fines and help felons vote in Florida.
This comes shortly after Rep. Matt Gaetz called for the investigation while speaking on Fox News.
In a letter sent to CBS12 News, Moody writes Gov. Ron DeSantis asked her office to review the “recent allegations” found in the Washington Post article published on Tuesday. The letter said that Moody’s office had reviewed Bloomberg’s pledge and referred the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI for a criminal investigation.
Matt Gaetz Calls On Florida AG To Investigate Mike Bloomberg “For Potentially Engaging In Bribery And Vote Buying”
By: Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, September 22, 2020:
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has called on the state’s Attorney General to investigate Bloomberg for “Potentially Engaging In Bribery And Vote Buying.”
#BREAKING: I'm calling on the Florida Attorney General to launch an investigation into @MikeBloomberg for potentially engaging in bribery and vote buying in the state of Florida. pic.twitter.com/2pAjZlAwSh
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) September 22, 2020
The money will go towards a program organized by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. By state law, former prisoners who are already registered to vote in Florida are barred from participating in the election if they have outstanding legal debts to the state, according to the Washington Post.
Bloomberg has raised money from both individuals and foundations, according to his advisers. The billionaire views the donations as a more cost-effective way of adding Democratic voters in Florida than investing money to persuade non-felons to change their vote, according to a memo.
“We have identified a significant vote share that requires a nominal investment,” it reads. “The data shows that in Florida, Black voters are a unique universe unlike any other voting bloc, where the Democratic support rate tends to be 90%-95%.”
The memo also notes that Biden is currently polling worse among Cuban American voters than Hillary Clinton did in 2016, while other Hispanic groups are in favor of Biden by a margin of 3 to 1.
Florida voters passed a statewide constitutional amendment in 2018 that gave former felons, except those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses, the opportunity to vote in upcoming elections. The Republican-controlled legislature subsequently passed, and the Republican governor signed, a law that conditioned their return to the voting rolls on the payment of all fees, fines and restitution that were part of their sentence.
The Republican effort is expected to limit the political benefit to Democrats of the constitutional change, which passed by ballot initiative with 65 percent support. A study by the University of Florida found that nearly 775,000 former felons still owed money related to their convictions and would be barred from the voting booth by the law. The vast majority are too poor to pay their outstanding debts, according to evidence presented in court documents challenging the law. –Washington Post
Beyond Bloomberg, several philanthropic groups have poured money into paying off debts owed by felons – including a nonprofit founded by LeBron James. Bloomberg’s effort, meanwhile, is “narrowly focused only on Black and Hispanic voters” whose debts are less than $1,500.
“Mike wanted to get this done for two reasons,” a Bloomberg adviser told the Post. “One, because it’s the right thing to do for the democracy. And two, because it immediately activates tens of thousands of voters who are predisposed to vote for Joe Biden.”
The Bloomberg memo pointed out that the 31,790 targeted voters, including 25,548 who are Black, are nearly equivalent to the margin by which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won election in 2018, and about three times as big as the margin that elected Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) that same year.
It said Florida voters have largely already made up their minds about the November election, leaving “only a small margin of voters that are targets for persuasion.”
“We know to win Florida we will need to persuade, motivate and add new votes to the Biden column,” reads the document. “This means we need to explore all avenues for finding the needed votes when so many votes are already determined.”
RELATED ARTICLES:
TWO POLICE OFFICERS SHOT at BLM Riots in Louisville
Notorious Antisemite, Terror Spox Linda Sarsour Leading Cop-Killing BLM Riots in Louisville
CNN’s Don Lemon: “Blow Up the Entire System’
EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.
Good – they should investigate Bloomberg. He is definitely buying votes and anyone who thinks he’s doing this to help out the poor felons who can’t pay their fines and/or restitution’s are plain naive.
No doubt he will have someone communicate with those whose debts to society he pays that they had best vote for Biden.