Attorney General Pam Bondi responded Thursday to West Palm Beach Democratic Rep. Mark Pafford’s request to examine the circumstances surrounding Gov. Rick Scott’s staff stiff-arming Democratic protesters at his budget-signing last month at The Villages.

Bondi hinted she was concerned, but powerless to step in.

“Throughout my nearly two decades in public service, I have been committed to transparency and open government,” Florida’s top legal officer, a Republican, wrote. “While I do not take lightly the questions you have raised, Florida law does not empower me to investigate your concerns.”

Pafford, who earlier wrote Scott seeking a response, was among Florida House Democrats who urged Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, also a Republican, to push for more answers and an apology from the governor for his office’s role in bullying a couple dozen Democratic protesters at last month’s ceremony.

A governor’s staffer apparently urged Sumter County Sheriff’s deputies to rein-in the protesters, claiming the budget-signing was a private event. Deputies confronted the protesters, keeping them out of the governor’s view and ordering them to discard their signs.

For his part, Pafford said in  a statement, “While I appreciate Attorney General Pam Bondi’s acknowledgment letter, I remain concerned that constitutional rights protecting Florida’s citizens have purposely been ignored by the Governor’s Office.

 “Since January 2011, when members of the press were banned from attending inauguration events in the state capitol building, the pattern of privacy has been the norm. I believe Floridians want answers to what transpired in The Villages and accountability,” he added.

Florida House Democrats urged a pair of Republican Cabinet members Tuesday to push for more answers and an apology from Republican Gov. Rick Scott for his office’s role in bullying a couple dozen Democratic protesters at last month’s budget-signing ceremony.

A Scott spokesman, Brian Burgess, last week acknowledged the governor’s office was wrong when a staffer apparently urged Sumter County Sheriff’s deputies to rein-in the protesters because the budget-signing was a private event.

Deputies confronted the protesters, keeping them out of the governor’s view and ordering them to discard their signs during the signing ceremony at The Villages in Central Florida.

Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, last week asked Scott to explain the actions. Scott later told reporters he’d look into it, and Burgess released his statement Friday evening, blaming the action on “confusion among event staff, including an employee of the governor’s office.”

House Democrats, however, want to learn more. They want Atwater and Bondi whether civil liberties were violated and whether the governor’s office should reimburse any public funds used to hold the signing ceremony, which was live webstreamed on the Florida Republican Party website.

The Democrats concluded by asking Scott’s fellow Republicans, “What recommendations can you provide to ensure all Floridians that such a ”mistake,’ will not happen again?”

Jennifer Meale, a Bondi spokeswoman, said the attorney general was traveling to Atlanta in advance of Wednesday’s court hearing on the lawsuit by Florida and a dozen other states challenging the federal health care law.  

A Rick Scott spokesman Friday acknowledged that the governor’s office staff was wrong to keep a handful of sign-carrying Democratic protesters away from his budget-signing last week at The Villages, the Central Florida retirement community.

Brian Burgess, Scott’s communications director, said there was “confusion among event staff, including an employee of the governor’s office,” about whether the signing of the $69.1 billion state budget was a “public or private” event.

“Although it was held on private property that was reserved for the event, the public was invited to attend,” Burgess said. “ The field staffer should not have participated in decisions related to event attendance or admission to the venue.”

Sumter County Sheriff’s deputies chased off a couple dozen protesters wearing blue, ‘Vote Democratic’ T-shirts and carrying signs at the budget-signing last week, that was organized by the Florida Republican Party and web-streamed on the party’s site.

Deputies, however, apparently acted on the orders of Russ Abrams, a Scott assistant, who told one reporter the budget-signing was a private event. Scott press secretary Lane Wright last week said the governor had nothing to do with stiff-arming the protesters.

For his part, Scott on Thursday said that he would look into the week-old controversy. That came after West Palm Beach Democratic Rep. Mark Pafford wrote the governor earlier this week, demanding an explanation.

“It’s interesting an apology didn’t occur,” Pafford said Friday evening, when told of Burgess’ statement. “It appears that the governor is acknowledging that mistakes were made. But I would think part of the message would be, ‘I apologize.’”

Here’s the video of last week’s exchange between deputies and protesters:  http://bit.ly/lCydCl

Gov. Charlie Crist says he’s scheduling a trip to The Villages (pictured right) as soon as possible after FOX News Sunday host Chris Wallace indicated that Marco Rubio may have a problem brewing with some tea party folks there. “At The Villages, they’re not happy with you, sir,” Wallace told Rubio.

“It was a bit surprising to me,” Crist said about that moment in their debate. “Maybe the speaker has miscalculated again as it relates to the electorate.”

Sounds like the problem is Rubio hasn’t responded to some questionnaires, according to the Talking Points Memo.

But Rubio received the message. From the minutes of the Tri-County Tea Party (Villages) meeting on Monday:

[President Pam Dahl] asked for a show of hands from all who had written letters and emails to Fox, and many hands went up in the air. Pam said those letters and emails really were heard and she received a call from Fox News to find out what was going on, and Joe Angione had received a call, too. When Marco Rubio’s campaign manager heard about TCTP sends out messages to over 1,000 people and those communications go out to over 35,000 people, they said they would like to arrange to Marco Rubio to come to one of our meetings to address TCTP in person.

Rubio is already scheduled for a visit to The Villages, when he and U.S. House candidate Allen West are “special guests” April 13 on Sean Hannity’s book tour. (And speaking of tea parties, Rubio is headlining the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party at the 10,000-seat Sun Dome at University of South Florida.)