An open examination was confirmed in the Hope Florida scandal

Records on a state house examination of a non -profit organization, which is connected to First Lady Casey Desantis' Signature Hope Florida Assistance program, are part of an “open” investigation, said Leon County Jack Campbell's public prosecutor on Tuesday.

The chairman of the House Health Care Budget, Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, submitted records before Campbell's office at the end of the last month, after completing a house examination in Hope Florida Foundation, a non-profit organization that is connected to the Hope Florida program.

Andrade spent weeks to investigate the preservation of the foundation in the amount of $ 10 million as part of a statutory agreement of $ 67 million that Centene, Florida's largest Medicaid Managed Care Company, reached the health administration agency last autumn.

After the foundation received the money from the settlement, it received 5 million dollars grants to secure the future of Florida, a non -profit organization that was bound by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and saves our society from drugs.

The groups made contributions within a few days to keep Florida clean, a political committee under the direction of James Uthmeier, who was then Ron Desantis' staff chief and is now an attorney in general. Keep Florida Clean, fought against a proposed constitutional change in November, which would have made it possible to use marijuana during leisure time.

Andrade, a lawyer, has accused Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron, a lawyer who represents the foundation and represents close connections to the Desantis administration, against the law with the settlement and the subsequent grants from the foundation.

A Uthmeier spokesman and Aaron last month gave up the allegations, with Aaron increasing the possibility of a defamation for defamation in a social media post.

Desantis and First Lady have the Hope Florida program, which works numerous state agencies and partly as a transfer service to churches and other private institutions that offer support for families who are looking for help. The governor also suggested that Casey Desantis, who will think of a possible run for the governor next year, will be targeted because critics regard her as a threat.

Andrade said on Tuesday that he provided documentation for Campbell's office at the end of April. Andrade announced on April 24 that his budget committee had completed his investigation of the agreement.

Campbell, public prosecutor in the 2nd Circle of Justice, would not say whether his office – which covers the counties Leon, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Liberty and Wakulla – examines everything that is related to the foundation or the Medicaid settlement.

“No comment,” said Campbell when he was contacted by Florida news service.

The records are “part of an open, ongoing examination,” said Lori Abbey, Campbell's administrator for public records, in an email. The investigation was first reported on Tuesday by the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Capital Bureau, which wrote in detail about Hope Florida and the foundation.

“I cannot check which information is contained or referred. In addition, I cannot check how information was made available to this office,” said Abbey.

The governor and the First Lady organized a press conference in Tampa to advertise the Hope Florida program as you have repeated in the past few weeks.

“Based on what?” Desantis said when he was asked after an examination by Campbell's office. “Well, I can tell you that this was a very successful program … and I think everything that was thrown on it was pure politics. … I believe in this program and I stand 100 percent.”

Andrade was contacted on Tuesday and did not say whether the Campbell office will carry out a criminal investigation into the documents he submitted.

“I am unable to comment on what law enforcement agencies do or not. I am convinced that crimes have taken place, and I believe that those who are busy with public corruption should do justice. Whether they are ever exposed to justice has law enforcement,” said Andrade in an SMS.