TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Today, former Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis asking him to reverse his Executive Order 22-176, which suspended Warren from office on August 4, 2022. Warren cites an opinion issued by a federal judge from the Northern District of Florida.
“And the facts do matter. Faithful execution of the law depends on faithful recognition of the facts. Accordingly, I ask that you lead through deeds, not words, and voluntarily rescind Executive Order #22-176. Further delay would be unnecessary and wasteful; it would deprive the residents of Hillsborough County their duly elected state attorney, cost taxpayer resources, clog our overburdened courts, and jeopardize every prosecution in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit handled by an interim state attorney who lacks valid authority because she was appointed as part of my illegal suspension. I ask that you resolve this matter by restoring me to the office the voters of Hillsborough County have twice-elected me to hold for the remainder of my four-year term,” the letter states.
But Bryan Griffin, Press Secretary for DeSantis, said that “Andrew Warren, of all people, should understand the distinction between legal dicta and the holding of a court’s decision.”
“In its lengthy opinion, the Court attempted to usurp the Florida Senate’s constitutional authority to make a determination on Mr. Warren’s neglect of duty and incompetence. It is the Florida Senate that is to rightly serve as the ultimate factfinder in this case,” Griffin told The Florida Standard.
“We do not agree with the Court’s dicta, which are merely opinions, and need not address them since the Court ultimately determined it lacked jurisdiction and thus ruled in favor of the governor. Mr. Warren remains suspended from the office he failed to serve,” Griffin added.
Warren was suspended in August for “neglect of duty and incompetence,” according to the governor’s Communications Director, Taryn Fenske. The Florida Standard reported on his alleged use of taxpayer money for his activist agenda and use of state-issued devices to plan “attacks” against the governor.
