Campaign Legal Center Files Ethics Complaint Against Governor DeSantis for Undisclosed Travel Gifts

Date
Case
Promoting Strong Enforcement of Ethics Laws at the State and Local Levels
Issues
Ethics

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis failed to disclose multiple trips on private jets paid for and arranged in February 2023 by And To The Republic, a nonprofit organization, as required by state law.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics against Governor Ron DeSantis for failing to report possible travel gifts he received from And To The Republic (ATTR), a nonprofit organization, in his financial disclosure form.  

Back in February, ATTR organized and arranged transportation via private jet on behalf of Governor DeSantis to almost a dozen speaking engagements in at least eight states. The exact cost for these flights is currently unknown.  

The Florida Commission on Ethics requires state government officials to report any travel gifts over $100 – a threshold that private jet travel easily meets - within the last day of each calendar quarter. Governor DeSantis had up until Friday, June 30 to disclose ATTR’s travel gifts. No gift disclosure statement from the governor is on the Commission’s website as of July 5th of this year.  

“This lack of disclosure from Governor DeSantis appears to be a clear violation of state laws that are necessary to maintaining public trust,” said Kedric Payne, CLC Vice President, General Counsel, and Senior Director of Ethics. “Floridians have a right to know that government officials representing them are acting in the public’s interests – not their own personal interest, or the interests of the wealthy special interests who give them gifts. The Florida Commission on Ethics must investigate whether Governor DeSantis did, in fact, omit travel gifts from ATTR from his financial disclosure form and take appropriate action.”  

ATTR has acknowledged that travel arrangements made by the nonprofit on behalf of Governor DeSantis were not a political contribution. No publicly available evidence indicates that these trips were related to his official role as Florida’s governor but one trip was on a jet owned by Jeffrey Soffer – a Miami hotelier hoping to get Florida’s gambling laws changed – for a speaking event in New York City.  

Even as a presidential candidate, Governor DeSantis is bound by Florida law. The Florida Commission on Ethics must enforce state law and investigate whether Governor DeSantis failed to publicly disclose his acceptance of travel gifts from a nonprofit organization.