During a press conference on Thursday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier suggested merely asking a question about the leaked grand jury report about the Hope Florida controversy is against Florida law.
The First Amendment of the United States of America protects the rights of any members of the press, or public at large, when asking questions.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
First Amendment, United States of America
The grand jury report obtained by CBS News concluded the DeSantis administration “misappropriated” taxpayer funds by diverting $10 million earmarked for kids in need to the Hope Florida Foundation. CBS Miami included the full grand jury report in its story, which can be read HERE.
According to the document, the $10 million came from a settlement of more than $67 million with Centene, a health care company accused of overbilling Florida’s children’s health insurance program. The terms of the deal were changed in September 2024, sending $57 million to the state and routing the remaining $10 million to Hope Florida — a state initiative led by Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis.
The grand jury identified Uthmeier as a “nexus” figure in the deal. He was Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff when the settlement was negotiated. The report states Uthmeier helped direct the money and that his political committee received most of it.
[WATCH: REPORT: Taxpayer dollars ‘misappropriated’ to Hope Florida, grand jury finds]
News 6 journalist Mark Lehman asked Uthmeier about the grand jury report during a press conference in The Villages.
Here is the exchange:
James Uthmeier: “This has been a politically motivated witch hunt driven by the Democrats and the far-left Democrat state attorney in Tallahassee. This hoax has been debunked time and time, and time again. I’m not allowed under Florida law to comment on the report, so I can’t say if it is true or not, but if it is indeed true, it shows a couple of things. First, it shows there was no probable cause found that anybody did anything wrong. I’d also, if we need, if this report is true, and it shows that the Democrats had to collude with the press to break the law and release a document that is not allowed to be released under the law just to show that a far-left Democrat state attorney is incompetent, then I don’t think we have anything to worry about. You’re asking me to comment on the contents; let’s do a little exercise here. First of all, pull out your phone. What’s your name?”
Lehman: “Mark Lehman.”
Uthmeier: “Martin? And who are you with?”
Lehman: “News 6.″
Uthmeier: “Alright, pull out your phone. Let’s go here. First. 905.27 Florida Statutes says we’re not allowed to comment on the contents of any grand jury proceeding. It goes further to talk about a court order, so, you know, by law we are not allowed to talk about it. Now, here’s the big one. Go to Florida Statutes, 777.042. You going to it? 777.042. Why don’t you read it with me here? A person who solicits another to commit an offense prohibited by law commits the offense of criminal solicitation. Are you trying to solicit a crime here in violation of the law? I did not think so. I did not think so. I did not think so. Here’s what I’ll say. Nobody did anything wrong here; there was not even probable cause to move forward. This is a hoax, and all it did was show that the Democrats can’t win on policy. They can’t win on the law. We got the lowest crime rates in history. So, they want to lie and smear and try to break the law.”
Uthmeier was referencing Florida Statute 777.042, which is titled “Attempts, Solicitation, and Conspiracy.”
Here’s what it says: “A person who solicits another to commit an offense prohibited by law and in the course of such solicitation commands, encourages, hires, or requests another person to engage in specific conduct which would constitute such offense or an attempt to commit such offense commits the offense of criminal solicitation, ranked for purposes of sentencing as provided in subsection 4.”
It is unclear in Florida law if commenting on the now widely available, completed grand jury report would be a violation of 905.27, further, a member of the public asking about a report that is now widely available to the public is unlikely to violate either the letter or spirit of 777.042 and would enjoy robust First Amendment protections.
Click HERE for the full text of the Florida Statute.
News 6 wanted independent legal analysis of the attorney general’s claim. We contacted well-known Orlando attorney Mark NeJame.
“It appears that the First Amendment regarding freedom of speech and Attorney General Uthmeier have become strangers to one another. It is incumbent on a free press to question and in fact to strongly question our elected officials. Without such scrutiny from the press, we become chillingly close to losing our democracy to authoritarianism. This is especially disturbing and dangerous because this effort to quiet the press comes from Florida’s top law enforcement official who has shown a pattern of attempting to limit free speech. An Attorney General should help expose crimes and misappropriation of funds…not attempt to cover them up,” NeJame said.
[WATCH: Here’s what to know about the Hope Florida case]