At a canvassing event in Tampa, Senator Bill Nelson responded to criticism that he may have given away classified information. Last week, Senator Nelson claimed that Russia had meddled in Florida's voting systems, and since then he's drawn many people questioning where he got the information from, what information he might have and why he didn't notify anyone if said information is true.
He called the accusations of giving away classified information "ridiculous," and he went on to note that an NBC story cited three unnamed intelligence sources that backed up his own claim that Florida's election records had been hacked by the Russians.
Senator Nelson explained that the story "says that three classified sources confirmed. That's not saying anything about me using classified information, which I obviously didn't. I did exactly what the leadership of the Senate Intelligence Committee — both the Republican chairman and the vice-Chairman — asked Marco Rubio and I to give that warning."
However, the story cited only assures that "there is a classified basis for Nelson's assertion."
Still, the questioning continues.
In response to the claim, Governor Scott, in a news release last week, asked "Bill Nelson must come clean – did he lie to Floridians or did he release classified information?"