For the first time in 50 years, a state grand jury investigation concerns a member of the Florida Cabinet.
What’s unprecedented is that he’s Florida’s chief legal officer, Attorney General James Uthmeier, whose office might necessarily become involved in issues arising during and after the probe.
The last time, Attorney General Robert Shevin had to go to court on behalf of an assigned prosecutor and grand jury during investigations of Education Commissioner Floyd Christian and Insurance Commissioner Tom O’Malley in the 1970s. (Both positions were elected Cabinet members back then.)
Both ultimately were forced from office, took pleas and were jailed on federal charges stemming from kickback schemes — but not before the Florida Supreme Court had gone through semantic contortions to void their original indictments.
Uncharted territory
Florida has no provision to deal with potential conflicts of interest in a criminal case involving an attorney general himself, or even to suspend one in the event of an indictment. A Cabinet member can be suspended only upon impeachment by the Legislature.
The ends of justice demand what the Constitution does not. Uthmeier should either take voluntary leave during the probe or recuse himself unconditionally, in writing, from anything that might arise from it.
The case concerns $10 million diverted from a $67 million Medicaid overbilling settlement. The money went to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity promoted by Casey DeSantis, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wife.
From there, most of it made its way through two other nonprofits to a political committee run by Uthmeier, who was the governor’s chief of staff at the time. The committee spent it on helping to defeat the 2024 recreational marijuana amendment, which DeSantis fiercely opposed.
Tallahassee-area State Attorney Jack Campbell will be taking the case to the grand jury next week, in a courthouse across the street from the state Capitol.
Those known to have been subpoenaed include a former acting attorney general, John Guard, whose nomination to be a federal judge is stalled in the Senate on account of the Hope Florida issue.
A worst-case interpretation of what has already been disclosed is that money intended to care for Medicaid patients was embezzled for a political purpose. Since Medicaid is jointly financed by the federal government and the state, it would seem that Washington would also be concerned. But there’s been no outward showing of any interest from the Department of Justice.
GOP lawmaker: ‘A conspiracy’
Indeed, nothing at all might be happening but for state Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, a House budget subcommittee chairman who delved into the case last legislative session. He forwarded his findings to Campbell, the state attorney.
“Simply put,” Andrade said, “there’s no question that these were Medicaid funds steered by the governor’s chief of staff through secret and clandestine actions to his own political committee.”
He described it as “a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.”
DeSantis has blasted the Hope Florida investigation, which puts a cloud over his own office and on his and his wife’s political prospects.
As attorney general, Uthmeier has no direct authority over any state attorney. But the governor does, and DeSantis has already used it to suspend two Democratic state attorneys on highly dubious pretexts. It would behoove him, however, to keep his distance from Campbell.
A need for changes
However this ends, it’s obvious that Florida needs to amend its constitution in several ways.
The attorney general should be recused automatically whenever he or she is a person of interest in a potential criminal investigation. Suspension should be automatic in the event of an indictment.
Another unprecedent situation is that two of the three elected Cabinet officers — attorney general and chief financial officer — are people DeSantis appointed to vacancies. That foils the historical reason for having an elected Cabinet, which was to have independent judgment on such critical matters as the sale and development of public lands.
Under DeSantis and his predecessor Rick Scott, however, even the elected members voted like clones.
Nothing stands out more sorely, though, than the governor’s power to appoint an attorney general to a vacancy he created. That also calls for a constitutional amendment. One suggestion: If an elected attorney general has left for any reason, his or her chief deputy should automatically occupy the vacancy, or the Supreme Court could be empowered to appoint a successor.
DeSantis opened the door for Uthmeier by appointing Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate in place of Marco Rubio, the new secretary of state.
Meanwhile, all of Florida should be watching keenly as witnesses parade into the closed grand jury room next week.
As is often pointed out, state attorneys don’t need grand juries to prosecute anything short of a capital crime like murder. But a grand jury can give a prosecutor useful cover for whatever the outcome is.
Among the most interested observers should be the 51 sheriffs, including Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County, who have endorsed Uthmeier in the 2026 election.
The Hope Florida scandal was right in front of them. Didn’t they care?
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
