TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, the Miami Herald reported on Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s pattern of corruption, most recently using his office to intervene on behalf of donors since taking office last year. In at least three separate instances, the attorney general’s office got involved in a legal battle days or weeks after a donor gave $25,000 to Uthmeier’s campaign.
The reporting raises serious questions about Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s use of public office to benefit political donors. The article details multiple instances where Uthmeier’s campaign or allied political interests received major contributions, followed shortly by the Attorney General’s Office taking official action that aligned with those donors’ private legal or business interests.
In response to this news, Nikki Fried, Chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, issued the following statement:
“James Uthmeier has turned the Attorney General’s office into an auction house. While families across Florida can’t cover their rent, their insurance, or a tank of gas, Uthmeier is busy cashing checks from developers and billionaires and torching more than a billion taxpayer dollars on cruel stunts like Alligator Alcatraz to score points with Donald Trump. Floridians deserve an Attorney General who answers to them, not to his donors. This November, they can throw out the corruption and elect José Javier Rodríguez, someone who will enforce the law instead of selling it.”
Background: James Uthmeier’s history of corruption is staggering. The pattern creates a clear appearance of pay-to-play politics and blurred lines between campaign fundraising and official state power.
- Norman Braman and his wife gave $25,000 — Uthmeier then sided with auto dealers in their fight against Scout Motors and issued a records demand targeting the company.
- A trust tied to developer Matthew Lazenby gave $25,000 — Uthmeier’s office then intervened to help Lazenby’s company in its fight to build a major Bal Harbour development.
- Two Roads Development gave $25,000 — Uthmeier’s office then tried to intervene in a condo dispute in a way that benefited the developer.
- Sarah Jon Porreca’s father gave $100,000 — Uthmeier had personally helped fast-track a pardon for Porreca’s old felony drug conviction.
- A company tied to Rays owner Patrick Zalupski gave $50,000 — Uthmeier and the Cabinet then voted to give state-owned land to the team for a potential Tampa stadium.
- Uthmeier was a central figure in helping Ron DeSantis route $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement through Hope Florida — money that was supposed to serve the public ended up moving through a politically connected foundation and into a political committee he controls to influence the outcome of a constitutional ballot amendment in 2024.
- Uthmeier’s political stunts cost taxpayers more than $1 billion — including roughly $250 million in state emergency funds for “Alligator Alcatraz,” while Uthmeier gained national MAGA attention and praise from Trump allies. (wgcu.org)
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