Letter to the Hon. Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice - Crist, Hastings Lead Fl Democrats in Renewed Push for Doj Investigation Into Desantis Vax Scandal

Letter

Dear Attorney General Garland,

As Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, we offer enthusiastic congratulations on your successful Senate confirmation. We look forward to your service to America as the People's Lawyer. It is in that vein that we write with urgent concern about consistent reporting that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is establishing coronavirus vaccine distribution and administration sites in select locations to benefit political allies and donors, over the needs of higher risk communities and existing county waitlists. Prioritizing political donors for government resource distribution raises ethical and legal concerns on its face, but given the severity of the stakes -- literal life and death -- we request that the Department of Justice immediately review the well-documented reporting alleging what we, as Representatives of those being left behind, believe to be blatant, politically motivated vaccine distribution decisions made by the Governor.

The Department of Justice was made aware on February 21 about a "pop-up" vaccination site set up by Governor DeSantis in Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County. The pop-up site allowed residents in ZIP codes with the highest income and lowest infection rates in the county to jump ahead of the line established by a county-administered, randomized lottery. Disturbingly, wealthy contributors to the Governor's campaign have direct ties to the affluent development[1]. Since then, reporters across our state have uncovered additional pop-up sites that strongly suggest trading official acts for campaign contributions. In one instance, the exclusive, secure Key Largo enclave of Ocean Reef Club received its own pop-up vaccination site in January, long before seniors in the rest of the state[2]. Following the trail of early, exclusive access to vaccines, records show that an Ocean Reef resident gave a $250,000 contribution to the Governor's campaign[3]. In another instance, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that a developer and significant contributor to Governor DeSantis was contacted by the Governor directly about setting up a pop-up clinic in two communities he developed: Grand Palm, a luxury community with lavish amenities,[4] and Boca Royale, a gated country club with high property values[5].

Given the Governor's own admission that he does not have a comprehensive strategy for distributing vaccines, Floridians deserve transparency on how the decisions for pop-up vaccination sites are being made. Texts messages between a DeSantis-allied county commissioner and a large DeSantis donor before the Lakewood Ranch pop-up was established[6] seem to indicate that politics and campaign donor influence are trumping the public health needs of our state. Given the Governor's threat to withhold vaccines from those who criticize his actions[7], it is reasonable to believe that more wealthy, politically connected neighborhoods have been prioritized than what has been reported to date.

Over 10,000 Floridians have died from COVID-19 since our state began vaccinating our residents at the beginning of the year. Considering the enormous latitude governors have over vaccine distribution, it is no exaggeration to say that these decisions are life and death. If politics and quid pro quo are factoring into Governor DeSantis' vaccine strategy -- as it appears to be -- it would be an unspeakable abuse of power and possibly a violation of federal law. We appreciate your full attention to these concerns, and we are confident that upon review, the Department will be able to determine whether the allegations merit a full investigation.

Sincerely,