Attorey General Ashley Moody and U.S. House Rep. Vern Buchanan host a press conference in Bradenton Beach on Nov. 22, 2024, about the state’s suit against FEMA head Deanne Criswell. (Screenshot from Moody’s YouTube page)
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said the state would seek to fast-track discovery in her lawsuit against FEMA’s administrator over a supervisor’s guidance to skip homes displaying signs favoring President-elect Donald Trump.
Moody also said during a Friday press conference in Bradenton Beach that she would sue additional officials if more evidence emerges that the direction to skip houses of Trump supporters was widespread.
“We don’t wait for the federal agencies to start digging into their investigations. We do it ourselves, because you’ve got to hold them accountable,” Moody said.
“And that’s what we’re doing here in Florida, and that’s why I was proud to bring this suit so quickly. You better believe we’ll be on the horns with other [attorneys general] around the nation that may have experienced similar situations on behalf of their own citizens.”
In the suit filed in federal court on Nov. 13, Republican Moody seeks a jury trial against Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Deanne Criswell and Marn’i Washington, supervisor of post-Hurricane Helene and Milton relief efforts in Lake Placid, over her guidance to avoid houses advertising Trump.
FEMA head testimony
Relief workers skipped around 20 houses, Criswell told members of the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday. Criswell fired Washington on Nov. 9 and testified in front of two U.S. House panels that there was no evidence the problem went beyond the former supervisor.
“The actions of this employee are unacceptable, and it is not indicative of the culture of FEMA, and I do not believe that there is a widespread cultural problem,” Criswell said at the Transportation and Infrastructure hearing. “I have directed ongoing investigations, working with the [Homeland Security inspector general[, working with the Office of the Special Counsel, and if we find any other acts of similar behavior, we will take appropriate disciplinary measures.”
Conspiracy to interfere
Moody’s complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida accused Criswell and Washington of conspiring to interfere with the civil rights of Florida Trump supporters. Aside from requesting the jury trial, Moody wants the defendants to pay nominal and punitive damages.
U.S. House Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican representing the Bradenton area, hosted the press conference and said he’d like to think the incident in the Highlands County town wasn’t part of a cultural problem within FEMA.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’re going to resolve it, and everybody that’s had a particular mindset that’s not working for everybody, they’re gone,” he said. “We’re going to get rid of them. I think it’s a different environment in Washington now.”
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