DeSantis looking forward to ‘fast dismissal’ of ethics complaint over private air travel

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – A non-profit government watchdog organization has formally requested the Florida Commission on Ethics to investigate whether Gov. Ron DeSantis adequately disclosed air travel on private jets as personal gifts.

The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint which references a New York Times article stating that DeSantis utilized private jets arranged by a nonprofit, And To The Republic, for numerous speaking events across multiple states while laying the groundwork for a potential presidential bid.

According to the article, Tori Sachs, Executive Director of And to the Republic, would not say how much the flights cost or who paid for them.

“ATTR has acknowledged that travel arrangements made by the nonprofit on behalf of Governor DeSantis were not a political contribution,” the complaint reads. “No publicly available evidence indicates that these trips were related to his official role as Florida’s governor.”

The complaint also alleges that DeSantis missed the June 30 deadline to disclose gifts and contributions over $100.

DeSantis spokesman Jeremey Redfern dismissed the ethics complaint as “frivolous.”

He also rejected the notion that the Campaign Legal Center should be viewed as independent and called the group “transparently partisan.”

Redfern added that the governor’s team is looking “forward to a fast dismissal.”

This is the Campaign Legal Center’s third ethics complaint filed against DeSantis or his campaign as a whole with the last two filed with the Federal Elections Commission.