Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 5-17-19

Political News
Former President Jimmy Carter Has Surgery For Broken Hip
'We Won't Tell You Which Counties Were Hacked': Gov. DeSantis,
Is Stonewalled By The FBI
TALLAHASSEE— Gov. Ron DeSantis shaped his political identity in Congress by taking on the FBI and crit- icizing its Russia investiga- tion.
But as Florida governor, not only has DeSantis toned down the FBI bashing, he’s even doing the bureau’s bid- ding. The governor signed a non-disclosure agreement with the bureau in exchange for a briefing Friday on Russ- ian hacking into voter sys- tems in two Florida counties — a decision one fellow Re- publican described as com- plicity in a cover-up.
The DeSantis evolution has exposed the new gover- nor to rare criticism from other Republicans, county election supervisors and gov- ernment-transparency advo- cates who say his decision to sign the non-disclosure agreement — and keep infor- mation from the voting pub- lic— hurts his political brand and erodes trust in the elec- tion systems of the nation’s biggest swing state.
“It was definitely a mis- step,” said Mike Bennett, the conservative Republican election supervisor of Mana- tee County.
“Why sign an NDA? Why would he do that? Why then
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS
go out there and have a press conference and say, ‘I’ve got a secret. I’ve got a secret! I’ve got a secret! And I ain’t gonna tell you,'” Bennett said. “He should demand the FBI tell us all what happened, where it happened, and how to avoid this in the future.”
But, Bennett like other Republicans, said he is other- wise happy with the gover- nor’s performance. Elected last year, DeSantis has won broad acclaim for managing a successful first legislative ses- sion, which ended earlier this month with few internal dis- putes and a string of conser- vative victories.
Then came the meeting with the FBI on May 10.
Even DeSantis was un- comfortable with the situa- tion he was in after learning
the identity of the two coun- ties from the FBI. He decided not to keep the meeting quiet, holding a Tuesday press con- ference to disclose that the bureau had given him some information. By Wednesday, he was expressing regret that the identity of the two coun- ties was kept secret.
“It’s over-classified,” De- Santis told reporters on Wednesday in Coral Gables.
When asked how he squared his FBI-bashing in Congress with his decision to sign the non-disclosure agreement, DeSantis said it was born of necessity.
“I share the frustration of your question. But my situa- tion is if I didn’t sign that, I wouldn’t have gotten any briefing. And I would have gotten even less,” DeSantis said. When he learned from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that Florida counties had been hacked, his administration asked for more information but was stonewalled.
“We immediately called the FBI — we thought it was only one county at the time — and said, ‘Hey, which Florida county?’” DeSantis said. The FBI’s reply, he said, was, “We won’t tell you. We can’t tell you. We can’t do it.”
Former President Jimmy Carter is taking things one day at a time after his surgery for a broken hip Monday (May 13).
According to the Associ- ated Press, the oldest living president was en route to hunt turkeys when he fell and broke his hip at his home. Carter's spokeswoman, Deanna Congileo said in a statement that the 94-year- old was treated in Americus, Georgia near his home with his wife, Rosalynn by his side. His surgery also went well as he is currently resting.
The statement released in- cluded some of Carter's warming personality as he noted his anxious return to hunt for turkeys. “President Carter said his main con- cern is that turkey season ends this week, and he has not reached his limit. He hopes the State of Georgia will allow him to roll over the unused limit to next year,” the statement reads.
Alabama Senate Passes Bill Banning Abortion, No Exception For Rape And Incest
Lawmakers in Alabama voted to outlaw abortions which could make the proce- dure punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The 25-6 vote, with one abstention, was handed down Tuesday (May 14) following a nearly four-hour debate, the Mont- gomery Advertiser reports.
The HB314 abortion bill makes an exception only if the pregnant mother’s health could be at risk. It does not include exceptions for rape and incest. The bill was spon- sored by Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur), and drafted by Eric Johnston of the Ala- bama Pro-Life Coalition.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law Wednesday.
While the abortion debate rages on, prenatal health and access to proper health care remains an issue for women in Alabama, particularly
Protestors and counter-protestors in Alabama.
black women. As of 2016, Al- abama had a infant mortality rate of 9.1 deaths for every 1,000 infants born. The mor- tality rate for black infants was twice the rate of white in- fants, according to figures from 2016. Additionally, Ala- bama ranked 40th in a 2018 study on children's health care putting the state slightly ahead of Georgia, Mississippi
and Louisiana, all of which ranked extremely low on the national list.
The HB314 abortion bill was passed amid ongoing controversy surrounding abortion laws in various states. Shortly after the news broke, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it will sue to stop the law from “ever taking effect.”
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