Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Thursday to suspend an elected state attorney. After an inquiry reviewing the justices in the state’s attorney offices, reports indicated Hillborough County’s litigator Andrew Warren was soft on crime. In the executive order, DeSantis accused the prosecutor was incompetent and neglecting his duties.
The governor told Fox’s Tucker Carson he’d heard that George Soros-backed litigators were elected to undermine Republican governors, so DeSantis launched an investigation into his justice system. Warren was “the guy” that stood out during the governor’s staff’s justice department review.
Warren “is the guy that all the line prosecutors, all the law enforcement said, he thinks he can pick and choose which laws: “He actually signed letters saying he wouldn’t enforce laws against transgender surgeries for minors [and] laws protecting the right to life,” the governor said.
The document was a joint statement of state prosecutors across the country that declared the signees would decline to criminalize reproductive health decisions. Warren is the only county attorney in the state to sign the statement.
Another pledge he signed was to decline to criminalize”gender-affirming healthcare or transgender people.”
Democrats complain that suspending Warren was a power grab as the elected prosecutor is also a Democrat. However, as Florida’s executive officer, the governor is doing what the state’s Constitution commands; he is upholding the rule of law, according to National Review.
Today’s political stunt is an illegal overreach that continues a dangerous pattern by Ron DeSantis of using his office to further his own political ambition. It spits in the face of the voters of Hillsborough County who have twice elected me to serve *them*, not Ron DeSantis… pic.twitter.com/RzPXksSSWa
— Andrew Warren (@AndrewWarrenFL) August 4, 2022
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
National Review: Ron DeSantis Is Right on the Executive Duty to Enforce the Law; by Dan McLaughlin
Politico: DeSantis suspends state attorney who vowed not to enforce Florida’s new abortion law; by Matt Dixon
CNN: DeSantis suspends Tampa prosecutor who took stance against criminalizing abortion providers; by Steve Contorno
FOX News: ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight:’ Ron DeSantis on firing Soros-backed prosecutor; video
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image by Lorie Shaull Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
