Source: Seattle Times
“Florida’s child welfare agency sent a letter to a Florida newspaper telling it to ‘cease and desist’ its reporting on foster families for a story about a nonprofit associated with Gov. Ron DeSantis’[s] wife that is the subject of an investigation. … The letter claimed that the newspaper’s Tallahassee reporter had used threats to coerce foster families into making negative statements about the Hope Florida Foundation when he contacted them about the welfare nonprofit behind the signature initiative of Casey DeSantis, Florida’s first lady. … Republican state lawmakers in DeSantis’[s] own party have been scrutinizing Hope Florida and its nonprofit foundation, which gave $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement to two nonprofits. Those groups in turn gave millions to a political committee, chaired by DeSantis’[s] then-chief of staff, that campaigned against a failed referendum on recreational marijuana.” (06/09/25)