After former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg openly pledged to pay the fines of convicted felons in Florida so that they could vote in this year’s general election, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried welcomed the possibly illegal gesture (bribe) from the former failed Democratic presidential candidate and Wall Street billionaire.
Fried, Florida's highest-ranking Democratic, acknowledged Bloomberg with a simple, yet very telling tweet:
"Thank you @MikeBloomberg! This will go a long ways to fighting voter suppression in Florida," tweeted Fried
Thank you @MikeBloomberg!
This will go a long ways to fighting voter suppression in Florida. https://t.co/9ZwIodB0gV
— Nikki Fried (@nikkifried) September 22, 2020
After Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) first raised concerns and accused Bloomberg of trying to bribe potential voters, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody formally requested to FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate any potential election law crime or violations tied to Bloomberg’s “bribe.”
“Today, I sent a letter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into potential violations of election laws," 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.
If law enforcement finds Bloomberg’s offer to felons to be illegal, well then Fried would have condoned a crime and her future political aspiration to become governor of Florida would have become that more complicated.
