Rick Scott's FDLE scandal blows open, demands probe. Way to go, Scott Maxwell.

[madfloridian]

One of my favorite columnists.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Rick Scott's FDLE scandal blows open, demands probe

If someone accused Rick Scott of being a liar who abused the power of his office, I wouldn't normally call that big news.

I might just call it Tuesday.

Scott, after all, is one of the least popular governors in Florida history. And he's been dogged by critics since the day he stepped in office.

But the latest accusations against Scott aren't coming from longtime critics. They're coming from one of Florida's top law-enforcement officials — a respected veteran who worked closely with the governor for the past four years.

And that, my friends, is a big deal ... and why Scott now has a full-fledged scandal on his hands.

What is Maxwell talking about? The FDLE chief who was fired by Rick Scott is blowing the whistle big time.

In a new series of allegations, Bailey says former Scott chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth pressured him to claim that the acting clerk of court in Orange County, Colleen Reilly, was the target of an FDLE criminal inquiry after two prison inmates used forged papers from the clerk's office to plot an escape from the Franklin Correctional Institution. The 2013 case embarrassed the prison system under Scott's control.

But there was one problem, Bailey said. It wasn't true, and he told Hollingsworth that.

"The most shocking thing was being ordered to target another individual without any justification," Bailey said. "I don't know why this woman was in the cross hairs."

I hope someone with guts takes this up and runs with it. This is a criminal act, and it must be pursued.

[madfloridian]

1. More claims by Bailey. These need lots of public attention.

Among Bailey's claims:

•Scott's office asked Bailey to falsely claim that a local official was being criminally investigated in connection with an escape from a state prison — an escape Scott's staff didn't want to be blamed for.

•Scott's staff asked Bailey to quickly conclude an investigation into an ally whom Scott wanted to appoint to a state board. Said Bailey: "Scott wanted the case to go away."

•Scott's campaign improperly asked Bailey to get involved with Scott's re-election campaign. When Bailey objected to mixing public and private business, he said Scott's staff told him to simply delete the email ... even though it was sent to his public email account.

There were more accusations, including Bailey telling the Times he was asked to hire unqualified people and that special interests may have inappropriately paid for FDLE agents to travel with the governor on a political trip.

[madfloridian]

2. More newspapers calling for investigation of Rick Scott.

A google news search today:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=rick+scott&oq=rick+scott&gs_l=news-cc.1.0.43j43i53.2370.5844.0.7749.12.6.1.5.5.0.117.628.1j5.6.0...0.0...1ac.1.xZCkyqiMehg&gws_rd=ssl#q=rick+scott&newwindow=1&safe=off&hl=en&gl=us&authuser=0&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:w

[mcar]

3. Excellent news

Could this actually bring this crook down?

[madfloridian]

4. Fingers crossed.

But he seems to get away with anything.