Politics
Florida appeals court weighs opening sealed Hope Florida case filings
The state appeals court has denied a request by people named in the Hope Florida grand jury report to block its publication and ordered parties to explain why related court filings should remain secret. The dispute concerns a report about $10 million routed from a Medicaid settlement into a political committee’s account.
A Florida appeals court has denied a request from people named in a grand jury report concerning the Hope Florida initiative to prohibit publication of the document, while separately ordering the parties to explain why records in the dispute should remain sealed.
The petition, filed Friday in the 1st District Court of Appeal, sought to prevent what it called the “illegal publication” of the report. The petition and the court’s denial are not publicly available, but the docket records the request as denied.
In orders issued Monday and Tuesday, the court gave people named in the report five days to explain why briefs, appeal records, motions and other filings should not be made available to the public. The orders could open more of a case that has moved between secrecy and public disclosure since the report was leaked in August.
The report, finalized in January, examined the movement of $10 million from a $67 million Medicaid settlement in 2024. The money went first to the Hope Florida Foundation, then to two nonprofits, and ultimately to a political committee led by James Uthmeier, who was then Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff. The committee opposed two ballot measures in 2024: one to legalize recreational marijuana and another to establish a state constitutional right to abortion. Both measures failed.
The grand jury characterized the money as “misappropriated,” but said no one could be indicted. A later appeals court ruling found the grand jury had applied the law incorrectly, concluding the settlement funds were not state money because the settlement was completed before legal action began. The court ordered the grand jury presentment expunged.
Because there was no indictment, state law allows the report to be sealed. A trial court had allowed a redacted version to be released, but people named in the report appealed. The appellate court’s Aug. 25 expungement ruling was itself kept from public view; an unredacted version of the report became public within a day.
The appeals court is also investigating how the document was leaked. It has directed Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell, who oversaw the grand jury proceedings, to explain his handling of the matter. Campbell submitted a filing of more than 200 pages on Oct. 13, which remains sealed. The court has asked him to identify which portions should be redacted and previously ordered him to explain why a special master should not investigate the leak and whether he should face sanctions or a Florida Bar referral.
A separate political dispute over the report is playing out in Highlands County. The Republican Party of Florida sued to stop television stations from airing Democratic Party ads that discuss the report. A judge declined Tuesday to halt the ads immediately but scheduled a hearing on the lawsuit. The Democratic candidate named as a defendant in that case, former state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, is challenging Uthmeier in an election campaign. Uthmeier was appointed Florida attorney general by DeSantis in January 2025.