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Florida AG Looking Into Bloomberg Felon Fine Payoff

Florida’s attorney general Ashley Moody is requesting that the FBI and state law enforcement investigate billionaire Michael Bloomberg for paying the outstanding fines and fees of convicted felons in Florida so they could regain their right to vote ahead of the November election, The Hill reports.

“Today, I sent a letter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into potential violations of election laws,” The Republican attorney Moody said in a statement provided to Fox News.

“I have instructed the statewide prosecutor to work with law enforcement and any statewide grand jury that the governor may call,” she said.

Bloomberg, a former New York mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, announced earlier this month that he would spend millions to assist convicted Florida felons pay court fees so they can become eligible to vote in the hotly contested swing state. Over the last week his political operation managed to raise more than $16 million from supporters and foundations to pay the court fines of 30,000 Black and Latino voters.

Florida voters passed a law in 2018 to restore voting rights to felons who have not been convicted of murder or sexual offenses and who had completed their sentences.  In 2019 Republicans in the state legislature and Supreme Court decided that “all terms” include fines and fees.

“After preliminary reviewing of the limited public information and law, it appears further investigation is warranted,” Moody wrote citing news articles about Bloomberg’s fundraising.

In the letter, Moody says Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office had asked her to look into the matter.

Moody’s letter follows a day after Republican House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Matt Gaetz called for an investigation into Bloomberg’s fundraising, which he described as a “bribe.”

“It’s not every felon. It’s just those which they have specifically identified as the Biden voters,” Gaetz said on Fox News Tuesday night. “That’s offering a bribe, an inducement, for someone to behave a certain way in voting.”

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About Catherine Smith

Catherine Smith is a newcomer to Washington D.C. She met and married an American journalist and moved to D.C. from the U.K. She graduated with a B.A. in Graphics, Media, and Communications and worked in design and retail in the U.K.

Photo: (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

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