Dems Demand Answers About DeSantis-Broidy Corruption

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Last updated on July 21st, 2023 at 05:33 pm

Donald Trump was in Florida Tuesday night campaigning for right-wing Florida U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, one of the president’s biggest supporters in the House, who is running for governor.

And now Florida Democrats are asking DeSantis to disclose the full extent of his relationships with disgraced former Republican National Committee deputy finance chair Elliott Broidy, who is enmeshed in several scandals.

There is substantial evidence that Broidy’s extensive lobbying work for Arab governments opposed to Qatar led to DeSantis’ possibly illegal actions as a Congressman attempting to harm that small Arab nation.

The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) has cited a new AP report about Broidy and his history of illegal lobbying activities for anti-Qatar policies in Washington. It is widely known that Broidy worked against Qatar as a way to curry favor from its enemies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Broidy had worked for years with those Arab nations attempting to secure over $1 billion in business deals for his consulting firm.

FDP spokesperson Kevin Donohoe had this to say about the Broidy/DeSantis connection:

“New reports have raised the chilling prospect that Congressman Ron DeSantis’ outspoken opposition to Qatar was part of a quid-pro-quo with one of his leading donors, Elliott Broidy. DeSantis should immediately disclose whether he had any conversations with Broidy about U.S. policy towards Qatar. Floridians deserve a governor who will stand up for them — not someone who is controlled by DC lobbyists and foreign governments.”

FDP is now raising difficult questions concerning whether or not DeSantis’ positions opposing the interests of the government of Qatar were taken because of direct lobbying from Broidy, who is also a member of DeSantis’ national finance team.

“AP reports that Broidy worked to influence at least one member of Congress: Congressman Ed Royce of California. But did Broidy also pay Ron DeSantis to oppose Qatar?” Donohoe asked.

In other words, did DeSantis sell out Qatar in exchange for campaign contributions from Broidy? If so, that would be evidence of serious corruption on the part of Congressman DeSantis, and show that he, along with Broidy, are members of the Washington “swamp.”

The FDP has pointed out several statements DeSantis has made about the Qatari government over the past six months, as well as actions that are suspicious. One example was his demand that the United States Treasury Department crack down on financiers in Qatar that he said were tied to terrorists. Another was his signing of a letter criticizing UN Ambassador Nikki Haley for not saying that Qatar funds the terror group Hamas.

In March we reported that Broidy had been hired by Russians to get U.S. sanctions lifted from Russian companies.

The FDP also mentioned Broidy’s resignation from the RNC finance committee after media reports showed that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid $1.6 million to a Playboy model to keep her quiet about an affair with Broidy.

The Daily Beast also reported on Tuesday that Broidy’s mistress, former Playboy Playmate Shera Bechard was pregnant, and had an abortion after her attorney went to Trump’s fixer Michael Cohen to arrange a hush-money deal to cover up the affair.

A copy of Bechard’s new lawsuit against Broidy was released Tuesday showing she is asking for an additional $200,000 in hush money payments from the former RNC fundraiser.

Since Broidy is enmeshed in several scandals, and was a major DeSantis fundraiser and supporter, the FDP believes the public has a right to receive all information concerning their possibly corrupt relationship.

DeSantis is one of two Republicans running for Florida Governor in 2018. He is opposed by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the Republican Primary to be held August 28th.

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.