Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t want you to know the names of the people helping him vet high-level judicial candidates. It might, his lawyers said, subject those consultations to unwanted scrutiny. The governor doesn’t trust regular Floridians with that kind of information. He doesn’t think it’s any of your business, even though it’s routine government business, paid for with your tax dollars. He wants the power to keep it from you by invoking executive privilege, an extreme power play that should make every Floridian wary of what he will hide next.
The case stems from an August podcast interview during which DeSantis said he had consulted a handful of conservative legal heavyweights when selecting nominees for the Florida Supreme Court. An anonymous person asked for documents showing communications between the governor’s office and the advisers.
In a lawsuit, the governor’s lawyers said turning over the documents would reveal the advisers’ names and argued for the governor’s internal actions to remain secret so he can freely receive advice and consider alternatives without fear of public scrutiny, the Tampa Bay Times reported. They argued that the governor has executive privilege, a special right invoked by U.S. presidents that shields them from disclosing information of their choosing. DeSantis’ lawyers had made similar claims in several other cases. This time, a circuit judge agreed, paving the way for the high-stakes showdown over the state’s open government laws.
