Lawrence Mower

No, this is basically the largest donation they've ever taken in by far. And we just got a copy of their 990s. They've never filed their taxes. They're going to approve their taxes on Thursday. And it shows that they're by far, this is by far the largest donation they've ever taken in.

No, this is basically the largest donation they've ever taken in by far. And we just got a copy of their 990s. They've never filed their taxes. They're going to approve their taxes on Thursday. And it shows that they're by far, this is by far the largest donation they've ever taken in.

Well, what we learned is that, well, what we know now is that it looks like DeSantis' chief of staff, James Uthmeyer, who's currently the attorney general, told two dark money groups, one run by the Chamber of Commerce. These are 501c4s that don't have to disclose their donors. Uthmeyer called them up and said, hey, why don't you apply for $5 million grants to the foundation?

Well, what we learned is that, well, what we know now is that it looks like DeSantis' chief of staff, James Uthmeyer, who's currently the attorney general, told two dark money groups, one run by the Chamber of Commerce. These are 501c4s that don't have to disclose their donors. Uthmeyer called them up and said, hey, why don't you apply for $5 million grants to the foundation?

And it seemed like, with the understanding that that money would then be passed on to a political committee chaired by Uthmeyer. And that seems to be what happened. They did apply for the money. It was quickly given to them. One of the $5 million donations wasn't even approved in a board meeting. The board chair just approved it on his own after getting legal counsel, he said.

And it seemed like, with the understanding that that money would then be passed on to a political committee chaired by Uthmeyer. And that seems to be what happened. They did apply for the money. It was quickly given to them. One of the $5 million donations wasn't even approved in a board meeting. The board chair just approved it on his own after getting legal counsel, he said.

And so it went to a political committee chaired by Uthmeyer. And then from there, it looks like the money went to the Republican Party of Florida, to fight Amendment 3 and possibly to DeSantis' own political committee. 1.1 million went to his political committee. We don't exactly know, but we know that this committee gave 1.1 million to DeSantis' own political committee.

And so it went to a political committee chaired by Uthmeyer. And then from there, it looks like the money went to the Republican Party of Florida, to fight Amendment 3 and possibly to DeSantis' own political committee. 1.1 million went to his political committee. We don't exactly know, but we know that this committee gave 1.1 million to DeSantis' own political committee.

Well, we don't exactly know the legal ramifications yet, but, you know, something that was noted in the committee on Wednesday is that, you know, there was a SAVE rep who runs a charity and asked, you know, why was there no press release about this? You know, usually when people give to charities, there's a big press release. They have letterhead everywhere.

Well, we don't exactly know the legal ramifications yet, but, you know, something that was noted in the committee on Wednesday is that, you know, there was a SAVE rep who runs a charity and asked, you know, why was there no press release about this? You know, usually when people give to charities, there's a big press release. They have letterhead everywhere.

You know, the 501c4 that got $5 million, the one that's controlled by the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Wilson, that grant application says that we will not disclose where the money came from, which also was noted in the committee.

You know, the 501c4 that got $5 million, the one that's controlled by the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Wilson, that grant application says that we will not disclose where the money came from, which also was noted in the committee.

And that also seems very strange considering, you know, usually if a charity is giving out money like that, they want a press release, they want their name on letterhead, they want promotional activities, you know, based on it. They want the recipient to say, hey, we got this money from the United Way or something like that. And none of that was done here.

And that also seems very strange considering, you know, usually if a charity is giving out money like that, they want a press release, they want their name on letterhead, they want promotional activities, you know, based on it. They want the recipient to say, hey, we got this money from the United Way or something like that. And none of that was done here.

And so, yeah, certainly to some lawmakers, that's highly suspicious.

And so, yeah, certainly to some lawmakers, that's highly suspicious.

And I'll note that, you know, in the committee last week, the head of, you know, the agency for basically the longtime previous secretary for DCF, which is kind of running the Hope Florida operation, was asked repeatedly, who's in charge of Hope Florida? There's nobody in charge. And none of the people could answer that anyone was in charge. They didn't think anyone was in charge.

And I'll note that, you know, in the committee last week, the head of, you know, the agency for basically the longtime previous secretary for DCF, which is kind of running the Hope Florida operation, was asked repeatedly, who's in charge of Hope Florida? There's nobody in charge. And none of the people could answer that anyone was in charge. They didn't think anyone was in charge.

Meanwhile, this guy has had the title since January. So, no, he's probably not the one who's been orchestrating all this.

Meanwhile, this guy has had the title since January. So, no, he's probably not the one who's been orchestrating all this.