Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi keyed a couple of letters on November 11, one to the secretary of state and the other letter to the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Florida’s version of the FBI. In the letter addressed to FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen she pointedly urged him to let go his grasp of the sideline bench and get in the investigatory mood. AG Bondi got right to it, opening her brusque letter with “I am deeply troubled by your announcement that you will not pursue any investigation or inquiry into clearly documented irregularities in the conduct of election officials in Broward and Palm Beach counties in the 2018 election.”
Bondi went on to remind the state’s leading lawman of his sworn oath “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the State of Florida.” Recent media reports indicated Commissioner Swearingen claimed he and his agents were observing for any hints of election fraud and, seeing none, deferred to oversight by the Department of State’s Division of Elections, awaiting any bona fide findings determined via the statutory authority of Secretary of State Ken Detzner, a former Democrat.
With seeming calculus, Bondi addressed separate letters to each state official, cross-referencing both Detzner and Swearingen. As for Secretary Detzner, she compelled him to report “any indication creating a reasonable suspicion of potential criminal activity” to “law enforcement agencies including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.”
According to Governing.com, Commissioner Swearingen is self-sidelined and unmotivated by the premise that “workers from the secretary of state’s office who have been observing the election in Broward County have not reported any [election] fraud.” Have they been asking the right questions? Are Sec-State personnel asking any questions, or merely watching elections workers work? Are Detzner’s people even trained investigators possessed of the acumen and insights of sworn law enforcers?
Per the Florida Department of State’s website, their “Division of Elections facilitates coordination and interpretation of election laws and establishes uniform standards to ensure fair and accurate elections in Florida.” They are overseers, not investigators. Fair enough. And that is why Bondi directed the faintest whiff of anything rotten be handed to law enforcement authorities so that accountability (responsible parties) can be immediately dealt with, to include the potential destruction or maligning of evidence.
Boots on the ground theories inherently ensure readiness to pounce on nefarious sorts, well before any chance to abscond and/or purge evidence linking to their criminal misdeeds. Plenty of media-play has been given Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. Indeed there are varying factions on both sides of the playing field implying things are on the up-and-up (with a few hiccups) or that utter elections fraud has occurred. More of the polarity between parties we are being conditioned to lately.
Dave Aronberg, the Palm Beach County state attorney, a Democrat, claims he has observed zero evidence of fraud. Michael J. Satz is the Broward County state attorney, a registered Democrat. A Marquette University law professor who studies attorneys general, Paul Nolette has told the media that state AGs ordinarily leave local investigations and prosecutions up to their state attorneys—similar to state police commissioners overseeing investigators’ work in the field. Like Florida Governor Rick Scott (who has alleged elections fraud from which he stands to lose a senate bid), Bondi is a Republican whereas Palm Beach County state attorney Aronberg is a Democrat. Trust issues? Maybe. Bondi did effectively write those two letters delineating any impropriety immediately be handed over to the county state attorney and law enforcement in respective jurisdictions.
Probably just focused on assuring that partisan politics do not murk the waters in Broward and Palm Beach counties, both part of a Democratic bastion in South Florida.
Looking into suspected election fraud committed by Democrats in a Democratic stronghold whose supervisor of elections seems to have slight-of-hand skills and an attitude to repel Godzilla from crossing the party powerlines, beckons objective law enforcement authorities to handle every ballot with forensic precision and due diligence with regard to recording it all comprehensively.
On the coattails of varied sentiments, Bondi implies that Swearingen’s state police cadre has chosen to be voyeurs instead of active investigators sifting through the alleged crime scene, looking for clues until all or none are found.
Does the Florida secretary of state even possess arrest powers? I have found nothing indicating any subset within the hierarchy of the Florida Department of State indicating arrest authority. Only the words “statewide coordination and direction for the interpretation and enforcement of election laws” as well as providing “supervision.” In their organizational charting, there is no division indicative of sworn peace officials authorized to effect arrests. That defers directly to the FDLE and Commissioner Swearingen’s agents.
Fundamentally, law enforcers receive complaints and, providing there is a remote hint of creedence, such as signs/suspicions of elections fraud, conduct a thorough investigation with what they are provided. Often, rudimentary information unfolds into a massive orchestration of individuals doing myriad improprieties. Large or small, no one will ever know until investigators get their pads and pens out, leading to substantiated or nullified allegations. And that is why Attorney General Bondi wrote to Commissioner Swearingen, stating, “…it is our job to investigate facts and circumstances giving rise to reasonable suspicion in order to determine whether criminal conduct has occurred.”
On the heels of that is the mounting report regarding Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes and a purported dubious legacy hobbled by less-than-stellar leadership and oversight. Mrs. Snipes is a self-professed lifelong Democrat, not a Republican, as some have asserted.
This is extremely reminiscent of what one James P. Comey did when then-secretary of state HRC engaged in a litany of glaringly prosecutable criminal offenses…and got away with a mere verbal smack after then-FBI Director Comey declined to charge the lady in red. Certainly, President Trump and many others were stymied over that let-down decision.
“Your duty to investigate this matter is clear,” Bondi admonished Swearingen, adding, “I am directing you to take the necessary steps to promote public safety and to assure that our state will guarantee integrity in our elections process. Florida is counting on you.” I suspect since that letter was written and received, another Florida counter started, one specifically counting down until the days of the commissioner’s termination for neglect of duty or similar breakdown, or he calculates his severely weakened position among state government and hits the beaches.
Still, some substantive pieces of the puzzle are around the floor somewhere. Bondi’s written claim that the supervisor of elections engaged in the process of “willfully and illegally counting ballots” denotes there’s more behind the voter curtain…and everyone is paying acute attention to their political ponies in the race. Florida Governor Rick Scott has repeatedly rendered claims of election fraud and incited criminal activity charges against election supervisors yet, unlike Bondi, has not officially tendered a formal request for state law enforcement to launch an investigation. Most of his requests for law enforcement involvement were made via TV segments reporting on the blustering fiasco.
As the Miami Herald reported, “…there is no investigation. Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said Scott did not submit his request in writing, and that no allegation of voter fraud in Broward has been sent to the Florida Department of State, which oversees elections.
“We do not have an active investigation,” Plessinger confirmed.
Instead, he honed in on the Broward County Courthouse and filed suit against Brenda Snipes. Playing it keenly, treading carefully, similar to the likes of President Trump? Perhaps. Just hours ago, Governor Scott recused himself from certifying himself in voter recount. Per Fox News, “Scott had been largely silent about his role on the canvassing commission–a three-member board that signs off on results of each federal, state and county election. The board is slated to meet on Tuesday to certify the results of the recount.”
Yesterday, FDLE’s Swearingen wrote a response to AG Bondi’s letter, rebuking her for claiming he “announced” his intentions to do nothing in the Broward and Palm Beach counties’ elections fraud debacle. In his letter, Swearingen asserted “a preliminary inquiry” into alleged elections fraud was already underway, launched by FDLE last week. As the Sunshine State’s top legal figurehead and one of three executive directors overseeing the FDLE, did Bondi somehow miss that? Is their record of such an inquiry?
Swearingen wrote to Bondi, even using some of the words she used in her own letter to him: “I am deeply troubled that you think that I have announced that FDLE would not be pursuing any investigation or inquiry into the conduct of election officials in Broward or Palm Beach counties (Or any other county) that may rise to criminal conduct during the 2018 election. I have made no such announcement.”
While FDLE Public Information Officer Gretl Plessinger previously told media that the state police entity did not have an active investigation open, she did confirm her agency launched an inquiry and declared, “I’m sorry, but we aren’t providing any information on the scope.” She did not mention that days ago when, for the media, she acknowledged the FDLE had not launched any investigation, but she mentions the inquiry…now that Bondi has turned up the heat.
Commissioner Swearingen followed: “A preliminary inquiry was initiated prior to receipt of [Bondi’s] letter.”
Although Governor Scott maintains state laws and elections protocols were violated, he has yet to offer evidence to support his highly-publicized statements, relying instead on a state police investigation to ultimately determine if there were any misdeeds or not.
Interestingly, Swearingen was once the director of the Florida Capitol Police before being appointed as the commissioner of the FDLE. Moreover, Swearingen previously served on Governor Scott’s “protective operations” team, ensuring the safety of the governor and his wife, having traveled abroad together.
Something stinks in South Florida, and political waft is mingling with undetermined forces which may or may not have gone astray. FDLE Commissioner Swearingen’s agents are trained fumigators poised to eradicate this sort of dilemma, one way or another.
