Senate President Jeff Atwater said he is more than willing to hand over his Republican Party of Florida-issued American Express credit card statements but that the party’s new chairman, Sen. John Thrasher, won’t do it.

Reporters asked Atwater, who is running statewide for chief financial officer, about the notorious AmEx spending that’s embroiled former House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio and former House Speaker Ray Sansom.

“I asked Chairman Thrasher if he would release the statements of the RPOF credit card that was assigned to me and he said no,” Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, said. “He said he has his internal process going on…I have asked him and he has said no. That is the party’s card. It is not my card. I do not have the statements.”

When pressed about why Atwater did not request the statements, he insisted he could not.

“I’m not the card. That would be RPOF. It’s RPOF’s card. So if RPOF were to request those statements I assume they could get them. At this point, it is the party’s card. And I have asked the chairman would you release any card statements that were associated with me? I have no qualms about what anyone would see on that and he said no, we’re doing our process.”

Atwater had one of the AmEx cards while he was recruiting Republican Senate candidates and raising money for the party in 2007 and 2008. He says he used the card strictly for party-related business.

The cards, issued to an undisclosed group of top elected Republicans and party officials, have been a continuing source of embarrassment as details have emerged of lavish spending by former Chairman Jim Greer (including that $3,600 meal at Brasserie L’Escalier), indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom (his $173,000 in AmEx charges included a family trip to Europe and an $893 Starbucks tab) and former exec director Delmar Johnson ($133,763 in a single month last summer).

Rubio got his turn in the AmEx spotlight last week when someone, presumably a supporter of opponent Gov. Charlie Crist’s slumping GOP Senate bid, leaked records of Rubio’s $125,000 in charges from 2006 to 2008. No Greer-scale extravagances emerged, but the records showed a $133.75 visit to Churchill’s Barber Shop in Miami that Rubio said he paid himself.

UPDATE: Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman applauded Crist’s interest in the Sansom case and is urging him to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate corruption in the Florida Republican Party. Her letter is here.

Republican Charlie Crist’s campaign sent out its second missive in two days trying to saddle primary opponent Marco Rubio to the mess left by former Speaker Ray Sansom’s resignation.

Sansom was Rubio’s hand-picked budget chairman while Sansom was tucking controversial deals for a local college into the budget. And while its fair to question about how much Rubio knew about what was going on, Crist’s tactics ignore that the governor had final say on line items in the budget and did not veto the project.

Crist has demanded Rubio “release all emails and documents between Rep. Sansom, yourself, and your respective staff.” But one of the big problems is House rules let lawmakers delete their e-mails at will, a standard that is far less strict than the requirements the legislature imposes on state agencies, the governor’s office and local governments. Crist has shown little interest in urging lawmakers to change that standard.

Today, Crist’s campaign takes a different approach, implying that Rubio not only should have known about Sansom’s budget dealings, but similarly may have used his influence to feather his own nest as speaker. From the press release:

Speaker Rubio, didn’t you insert tax payer funding for Florida International University including $50,000 for FIU’s Metropolitan Center into the 2007 and 2008 budget?

Speaker Rubio, didn’t you receive a job at FIU’s Metropolitan Center while you were still Speaker of the Florida House?

Speaker Rubio, weren’t you given an unadvertised job, like Ray Sansom, with full benefits from FIU two months after the legislative session concluded?

Donald Gaffney, a Jacksonville Democrat and former University of Florida star quarterback, surprised his colleagues when he resigned on the day before the 1988 legislative session after a federal grand jury returned a 21-count indictment along with new charges. (He was eventually sentenced to four and a half years in federal prison for mail fraud.)

Then-Gov. Bob Martinez called a special election, held after the session in May, in which Betty Holzendorf was elected. She was unopposed in the primary and general elections that followed in the coming months.

That quick history lesson is relevant as Gov. Charlie Crist considers calling a special election to replace Republican Ray Sansom, who resigned Sunday - nine days before the start of session and eight months before the next general election. Sansom requested his district office remain open in the interim and run by his secretary and legislative aide.

The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct wrapped up its business this morning in the wake of former House Speaker Ray Sansom’s resignation last night.

Committee Chairman Bill Galvano:

“As a result of Speaker Sansom’s resignation as a member of the Florida House, further action by this committee is rendered moot. We’re without authority to fulfill the charge of this select committee,” Galvano, R-Bradenton, said.

While former House Speaker Ray Sansom gets grilled on Monday over accusations that he wielded his influence in many improper ways, current House Republican leaders will be strolling the Bermuda grass of the Palmer Legends Country Club in The Villages.

House Speaker Larry Cretul and designated future speakers Dean Cannon and Will Weatherford are hosting a Republican fundraiser at the Arnold Palmer-designed course on Monday and Tuesday.

Sitting House members and current staff of the Florida House have been told they will not receive subpoenas in the chamber’s investigation of former Republican House Speaker Ray Sansom, said Jill Chamberlin, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Larry Cretul.

“The speaker determined that the staff would be required to testify. And if they would not, they would need to resign and then be subpoenaed,” Chamberlin said. “In the case of House members, they were advised that we expect them to cooperate fully. And then there is no need to subpoena our own members.”

Cretul must approve any subpoenas issued in the potentially explosive investigation of Sansom, who is accused of damaging the public’s trust in the House by using his influence to gain a six-figure job at Northwest Florida State College.

Sansom, who has maintained his innocence, requested last week that 35 men and women receive subpoenas. Rep. Bill Galvano, a Sarasota Republican leading the investigation, determined at the time that parliamentary rules prevent him issues subpoenas to sitting members of the state Senate.

A Republican U.S. Senate candidate, a Democratic Palm Beach County Commission candidate and the next Florida Senate President could all be forced to testify if a state House investigation into whether its former leader betrayed the public trust goes forward as scheduled.

The potential of such an event, which could end in the first expulsion from the House in nearly 60 years, exploding in an election-year media fiasco in the midst of the legislature’s annual spring lawmaking session has sparked negotiations for a potential settlement. But so far, both sides are taking a hard line in those talks.

“I don’t expect this to be resolved outside of a full-blown hearing,” said Gloria Fletcher, attorney for former House Speaker Ray Sansom.

More here.

Attorneys involved in the Florida House’s investigation into allegations that former Republican House Speaker Ray Sansom betrayed the public trust met briefly this morning to review Sansom’s list of 35 witnesses who will receive a subpoena.

But there are doubts about whether the case will get far enough for any of the witnesses to testify. Rep. Bill Galvano, a Sarasota Republican heading the House’s investigation, said the past several similar hearings had been settled. He met with Sansom’s attorneys on Monday to begin those talks.

For now, though, both sides are taking a hard line.

“I don’t expect this to be resolved outside of a full-blown hearing,” Sansom’s attorney Gloria Fletcher said.

Sansom’s subpoena list includes Republican Sens. Joe Negron, Dennis Jones, Mike Haridopolos and Don Gaetz; Reps. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, and Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach; former Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka; and former House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami.

Gov. Charlie Crist called for a statewide grand jury to investigate political corruption in South Florida and around the state. Crist said he has removed 30 public officials from office around the state since he’s been governor.

“A recent rash of crimes committed by public officials in South Florida has led to a crisis of confidence among those who have elected them to office,” Crist said. “Today, I have petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a Grand Jury to investigate these crimes, bring indictments and provide specific recommendations to address fundamental problems within the system that may be cultivating a culture of corruption.”

Read the petition here.

Crist’s request for a grand jury comes after in the wake of the indictments of several Broward County elected officials on federal charges including bribery, money laundering and wire fraud. And prominent GOP fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn, a lobbyist who served on Crist’s transition team, was indicted last week on charges that he diverted at least $350,000 from campaign contribution and clients’ fees to pay for his mistress’ love nest, a luxury car and his kids’ private school tuition.

Palm Beach County led the public corruption scandal sheet in 2006 that resulted in three county commissioners and two West Palm Beach officials going to prison.

The corruption isn’t limited to South Florida, Crist said. He’s asked the grand jury to begin work by focusing on Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Lee and Hendry counties.

(more…)

UPDATE: Crist’s office says the state received a check today for $310,000 from Northwest Florida State College. That’s the balance of the $6 million the school was supposed to receive.

“Anyone is innocent until proven guilty,” Republican Gov. Charlie Crist said today when asked about a Leon County judge’s decision to dismiss key charges against former House Speaker Ray Sansom.

But Crist saw no problem between that statement and his own decision earlier this year to demand the college involved in Sansom’s trial return the $6 million in question.

Crist said his decision was appropriate and pointed out the entire case against Sansom has not been dismissed.

“There are more outstanding issues as I understand,” Crist said.

Asked if state Attorney General Bill McCollum should appeal the judge’s decision, Crist said, “that’s up to the attorney general.”

“I got enough on my plate,” he said.

(more…)

State Sen. Dan Gelber is pushing a constitutional amendment aimed at cracking down on the kind of secret budget deals that got former House Speaker Ray Sansom in trouble.

Gelber, who is running against Sen. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres in a Democratic primary for state attorney general, and Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, want lawmakers to put the constitutional amendment on next year’s November ballot.

The amendment would require that appropriations bills be written in plain language and that all budget conference meetings between two or more lawmakers be conducted in a publicly noticed meeting.

The state budget is usually crafted in a much different manner, going through a series of conference committees until the Senate President and the House Speaker ultimately resolve their differences behind closed doors.

In Sansom’s case, he was the House budget chairman when he slipped in a $6 million item to build an airport at a college where he later became a high-paid executive on the day he was annointed Speaker.

Sansom, Okaloosa County developer Jay Odom and former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg have been indicted on official misconduct charges regarding the airport.

Sansom and Richburg each face an additional perjury charge for allegedly lying to a Leon County grand jury. They are scheduled to stand trial at the end of this month. (more…)

By MICHAEL C. BENDER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE — A controversial college construction project in the Panhandle followed a similar initiative at Indian River State College, according to e-mails assembled in the criminal case against former state House Speaker Ray Sansom.
But the building in Fort Pierce has one important difference, former Senate President Ken Pruitt recently said in sworn pre-trial testimony:

“There is no airport hangar there,” Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, told state investigators.

(more…)

House special investigator Stephen Kahn:

“The speaker (Larry Cretul) hired me and gave me very simple instructions. He said .. as best as I can remember, ‘Mr. Kahn, I want you to conduct fair, independent and through probable cause investigation. I want a written report with your determination whether probable cause exists to conclude if Representative Sansom violated that rules.’ At that point he shook my hand, stood up and walked out.”

“If nothing else were a factor, the timing of the action of the board of trustees in confirming the hiring of Representative Sansom on the same day that he ascended to the speaker’s chair created an appearance of quid pro quo upon which I found it was reasonable that Miss Smith could base her complaint of diminished respect for the House of Representatives.”

“The precise factual issue that likely will be presented to you … is exactly when Representative Sansom first knew he was creating a $6 million facility that was intended at that time to be used at least some of the time as a hangar Mr. Odom, a constituent with whom Representative Sansom enjoyed long-standing, close, complicated, intertwined relationships.”

(more…)

A House panel charged with determining whether Republican Rep. Ray Sansom violated the chamber’s ethics rules decided today to hire an independent counsel to present them the facts of the case. But the committee will not meet again until October - after the start of Sansom’s criminal trial.

Porth

“It’s now early August. I think we need to move forward expeditiously,” Porth said.

But other members warned of interfering with the court case, scheduled to start Sept. 29.

A House special investigator, Stephen Kahn, noted that Sansom referred to the criminal charges when he refused to be interviewed for his report. Kahn wondered aloud whether Sansom’s defense would rely on “RHIP” - a military acronym for “rank has its privileges.”

Asked after the hearing about that possible defense, Sansom’s attorney, Richard Coates, declined to comment.

“He’s looking forward … to cooperating,” Coates said about Sansom. “But right now we’ve got these other issues out there.”

(more…)

A criminal investigation of former state House Speaker Ray Sansom has recovered e-mails that a state college failed to release as part of a public record requests from The Palm Beach Post.

The e-mails were among nearly two dozen that Northwest Florida State College officials recently turned over to Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs but failed to release to media outlets that requested the same documents. In November, The Post asked the college to provide all communications between Richburg and Sansom from 2007 and 2008.

Similarly, The Post reported last week that Meggs’ case file includes e-mails to and from Sansom that House officials insisted did not exist.

More here.

Former House Speaker Ray Sansom was the “kingpin” in a $6 million budget deal that ultimately resulted in indictments for himself, former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg and RPOF donor Jay Odom.

Richburg referred to Sansom as the “kingpin in this whole operation” in an e-mail included in a set of records released today by the Leon County state attorney’s office. State Attorney Willie Meggs said his office received the records recently as part of a public records request to the college.

The e-mail is one of several that also include reference to then-Senate President Ken Pruitt, a Port St. Lucie Republican who gave Sansom, Odom and Richburg a tour of Indian River State College before the three started their project.

(more…)

A criminal investigation of former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom, recently indicted on charges of falsifying the state budget, has turned up e-mails related to the scandal that supposedly did not exist when The Palm Beach Post requested the documents from the legislature.¹

Sansom

The Post also sought messages between Sansom and then-college President James “Bob” Richburg about the scandal.

The House responded with documents that showed Sansom neither sent nor received a single e-mail for 11 days.

But that is not true, prosecutors’ files show. Documents found by Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs reveal several e-mails from that time, including a conversation among Sansom, Sansom’s communication director and Richburg, who was fired for his involvement in the controversy.²

“We need to be concerned about this,” said Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, when told about the discovered e-mails. “I’m almost speechless when I see what the legislature is doing and how they’re doing it.”³

(more…)

1. The Palm Beach Post, 04/18/09: Ex-House speaker’s indictment blasts secret budget deals
2. Click here for the e-mails included in Meggs’ case file, but not in a public records request made to the House.
3. Petersen was chairwoman of Gov. Charlie Crist’s Commission on Open Records Reform. The panel issued a report in January that determined the legislature has rules for itself that may be inconsistent with state public records laws.

Special investigator D. Stephen Kahn released his investigation of former House Speaker Ray Sansom today, deciding that the Destin Republican’s budget dealings and his relationship with Northwest Florida State College left probable cause for the public to “lose faith” in the integrity of the Florida House.

Sansom

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, announced that panel will include Rules Chairman Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton; Faye Culp, R-Tampa; Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City; Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, and Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs.

(more…)

Meggs

Meggs shrugged when asked when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would finish a forensic exam.

“Since the legislature is building airport hangars instead of funding FDLE, they’re a little behind,” Meggs said.

Sansom was indicted in April after a grand jury agreed that he had disguised a hangar as a $6 million college building in the budget. That item also led to indictments of former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg and Destin Jet owner Jay Odom, who has given millions to Sansom and the state GOP.

Sansom has maintained his innocence. He resigned as speaker but remains a powerful member of the House leadership.

Meggs seized the computer in search of documents not already revealed by public records requests. State legislators are not bound by the same strict “sunshine” laws they impose on other officials. For example, House members don’t have to hand over emails older than 30 days.

But even that time frame does not guarantee records. The Palm Beach Post requested all of Sansom’s e-mails within one 30-day period, but the records showed an 11-day gap for which no e-mails were provided.

Public records and access has remained an ongoing issue in Sansom’s indictment. Some of the grand jury’s most penetrating remarks were saved for the state budget process. Jurors criticized the legislature for allowing the state’s operating document to be crafted by as few as two legislators behind closed doors.

Despite that criticism, Republican leaders in the House and Senate spent 10 days behind closed doors this spring hashing out details of the state’s $66.5 billion budget.

Attorneys for both Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul have determined that documents created in those legislative meetings are not public record, spokeswomen for the two Republicans have told the Post.

(more…)

Gov. Charlie Crist had few words to say about a new perjury charge against disgraced former House Speaker Ray Sansom handed down by a grand jury today. The grand jury indicted the Destin Republican for misuse of office last month.

“Obviously we have a criminal justice system that’s working its way through the grand jury. I have enormous respect for their work,” Crist said this afternoon.

The governor sidestepped questions about whether Sansom should resign.

“I think that’s a decision for a different day,” he said.