A Leon County circuit judge has dismissed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office from a lawsuit filed by the Washington Post over access to DeSantis’ travel records. Judge J. Lee Marsh this week issued a nine-page ruling that said DeSantis’ office is not the “custodian” of disputed records held by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
As a result, Marsh ruled that the Post doesn’t have standing to sue DeSantis’ office. The Post filed the lawsuit in July against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and an amended version in December that also named the governor’s office as a defendant. It alleged that the state violated a public-records law by withholding records about a 2022 DeSantis campaign event and plane records.
In part, the amended version of the lawsuit contended that DeSantis’ office has “taken control over FDLE’s compliance with the Post’s requests.” But Marsh wrote that the amended lawsuit “does not allege that the Post submitted a public records request to the EOG (executive office of the governor) for the records.
Instead, the Post argued that its public records request to the department, combined with the alleged exertion of control over the response to the records, was sufficient to assert a cause of action against EOG for unlawfully withholding the records because EOG took legal or constructive custody of them. But a public records request to a different agency is not a substitute for a request to the agency for whom the requester seeks records.”
Marsh’s ruling, issued May 5, did not dismiss the case against the law-enforcement agency. It said the Post “can obtain complete relief for any alleged violation of the law and any award of attorneys’ fees from the department.”
–News Service of Florida
JOE D says
So Gov DeSantis technically didn’t “win” his battle about producing his “after the fact” travels….the County judge just said, the Governor’s office didn’t maintain the (“official “) requested records. The State Police kept those records. The judge DIDN’T drop the suit for information against the police department…(yet)…so the request for “after the fact” travel logs is still ongoing, just to the police department and not the Governor’s office.
Of course the GOVERNOR’S office DOES have copies of those records…and COULD have just SIMPLY released them. But making the request jump through more OFFICIAL channels (“hoops”), just drags out the process…making it more FUN finding out where our Governor has been traveling on Florida taxpayers dime for travel, security, hotels, and food expenses. It’s just a GAME to our Governor (of course it’s a game being paid for with taxpayer’s….YOUR…dollars), just like his attacks on DISNEY! Meanwhile DISNEY just announced a multimillion dollar expansion of its California DISNEYLAND park site. No mention of ANY similar $$$ expansion in Florida! Thank you VERY MUCH Governor DeSantis…another FINANCIAL example of what happens when you decide to BITE the HAND that FEEDS you….do you like those work PAYCHECKS WITHOUT STATE income tax deductions, Floridians? How do you think that’s all PAID for!?!
What a state and national EMBARRASSMENT!
Endless Dark Money says
Its todays GOP sick and corrupt. Wait till the next attempt to steal an election….