Florida Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in FL
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Scandal Categories
Florida Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
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Marco RubioU.S. Senator [R-FL]![X\Twitter page for Marco Rubio (4.4m followers) Twitter icon](img/icons/social/twitter20j.png)
![Instagram page for Marco Rubio (994k followers) Instagram icon](img/icons/social/instagram20j.png)
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6.3m![](img/icons/calendar2.png)
3/05/22
Broke security protocols by sharing live images of a briefing U.S. Representatives & Senators had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite being asked not to share any posts or images until the meeting had concluded
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According to reporting by NBC News & other media outlets
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Matt GaetzU.S. Representative [R-FL]![X\Twitter page for Matt Gaetz (2.7m followers) Twitter icon](img/icons/social/twitter20j.png)
![Instagram page for Matt Gaetz (812k followers) Instagram icon](img/icons/social/instagram20j.png)
3.7m![](img/icons/calendar2.png)
2/14/24
Asked a young woman who was getting paid by his best friend Joel Greenberg to have sex with other men to join him for a weekend trip to the Florida Keys where he said there would be "2 guys, 4 girls" and insinuated sex would be involved
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According to an exclusive report by ABC News
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2/14/24
Had sex with a 21-year-old who was under the influence of "all kinds of controlled substances" at a drug-fueled party she was paid to attend
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According to an exclusive report by The Daily Beast
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5/14/21
Snorted cocaine with a paid escort he also presumably had sex with inside an Orlando hotel room he paid for with campaign funds
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According to two eyewitnesses who spoke exclusively with The Daily Beast
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2/18/14
Had a difficult time handing his license and registration to police officers after getting pulled over for speeding, couldn't stand upright without swaying and refused field sobriety and breathalyzer tests upon which he was arrested
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According to charging documents filed by local police
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11/02/06
Offerred a 17-year-old boy working as a Congressional page oral sex in exchange for free lodgings at his home at the same time he was chair of a special Congressional committee dedicated to protecting exploited children
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10/15/06
Asked a 16-year-old male Congressional page to send him photographs of himself and inquired what he could buy him for his birthday over a series of five emails that the page said "really freaked" him out and made him feel "sick"
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10/15/06
Had sexual relations with two former male pages and sent dozens of inappropriate and sexually suggestive emails and instant messages to underage male pages over a yearslong period while also having voted in favor of numerous pieces of anti-gay legislation throughout his time in Congress
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According to voluminous reports filed by mainstream media outlets
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10/04/06
Routinely got drunk and sent sexualized emails and chat messages to underage male Congressional pages over a multiyear period
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According to reporting by NBC News & other media outlets
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David RiveraFmr. U.S. Representative [R-FL]
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8/20/22
Failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of taxable income to the government and siphoned even more to himself through a PAC that he earned from working as an unregistered foreign agent and lobbyist for the Venezuelan government
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According to charging documents filed by federal officials
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4/18/12
Secretly siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreported campaign donations to his personal accounts and used the money on a myriad of personal expenses including his personal credit card and only escaped charges because he exploited a little-known loophole in Florida's campaign finance laws
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According to the Florida State Attorney's office
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Ross SpanoFmr. U.S. Representative [R-FL]
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10/01/20
Attempted to take his loaded concealed handgun onto an airplane at Tampa International Airport, but was stopped by airport security and forced to secure it before being allowed to board his flight
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According to an airport spokesperson and reported by mainstream outlets
Florida Republican Executive Branch Scandals
Florida Republican State Legislator Scandals
Florida Republican Finance Official Scandals
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5/17/21
Paid an underage girl for sexual encounters seven times and introduced her to other men who also engaged in sexual acts with her
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He pled guilty to sex trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison
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3/31/21
Embezzled $400k in taxpayer money by using a government issued credit card on personal purchases including cryptocurrency and professional sports memorabilia
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He pled guilty to a larger package of charges and then cooperated with federal authorities on a larger sex-trafficking investigation
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6/23/20
Received over $400k in federal COVID relief by falsely claiming two defunct businesses were still operational
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According to charging documents by federal authorities
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6/23/20
Maliciously smeared his GOP primary opponent as being a racist child molester through defamatory posts from fake social media accounts he created
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According to charging documents filed by federal officials
Florida Republican Mayor Scandals
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John HammockFmr. Mayor [R-FL]
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1/16/22
Strangled his wife during an argument and was arrested after police determined he “committed an act of felony domestic violence” against her
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According to charging documents filed by local police
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Kevin HohnFmr. Mayor [R-FL]
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2/20/21
Produced and distributed over 300 felony images and 40 videos of two underage girls he secretly recorded in various stages of undress with a hidden camera and was also found in possession of over 100,000 images and 1,000 videos depicting children participating in sexual conduct when police arrested him
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According to charging documents filed by federal officials
Florida Republican City Official Scandals
Other Florida Republican Scandals
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William PruittFmr. Chief of Police [R-FL]
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12/09/22
Raped a 14-year-old girl twice at gunpoint after luring her into his truck, threatened to "blow her brains out" if she ever told anyone, conspired with friends who were former police officers to send a torrent of threatening messages to scare her from reporting it to the authorities and continued to stalk her even after being charged with raping her
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According to charging documents filed by local police
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George KruseCommissioner [R-FL]
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5/05/22
Lost control of his truck and slammed into a tree and then refused a breathalyzer test after police noticed he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and reported that he was "obviously impaired"
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According to charging documents filed by local police
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Julianna StroutCommissioner [R-FL]
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10/27/22
Falsely asserted she was a paralegal to federal authorities so she could enter an immigration detention facility her romantic partner was being held at
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She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and probation
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Matthew ShirkFmr. District Attorney [R-FL]
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1/05/17
Discussed showering and having sex with three subordinates in private messages, sent one a private message that said "I think if we had sex there would be very minimal awkwardness afterwards," drank to excess with them in his office and later fired all three after his wife caught him
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According to an exclusive report by The Florida Times-Union
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1/26/21
Commuted the life sentence of a drug kingpin who was imprisoned for his role in the killing of an undercover police officer and who was later sent to jail after being convicted for strangling his wife
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According to news reports from credible media outlets