TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alex Vindman is calling for Sen. Ashley Moody to demand the release of the Hope Florida grand jury report.
Speaking to reporters in front of the Florida Capitol on Thursday, Vindman criticized Moody, who was Florida attorney general at the time, over her office’s role in the Hope Florida scandal and claimed her involvement earned her appointment to the U.S. Senate.
“My challenge to Ashley Moody is, if she has nothing to hide, she should go ahead and call for this release,” Vindman told reporters. “If she is the reason that the grand jury report is not being released, which is my suspicion, either way, I think the electorate deserves to know.”
Hope Florida, a nonprofit organization tied to an initiative led by First Lady Casey DeSantis, approved the transfer of $10 million they received as part of an atypical settlement involving Medicaid funds to two other nonprofits.
Those organizations then gave the money to a political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ then-chief of staff who later was named Attorney General after Moody left for the U.S. Senate. She was appointed to the role by Gov. Ron DeSantis after Marco Rubio left the position to become Secretary of State.
The political committee used the funds to campaign against two ballot measures on the November 2024 ballot that would have legalized recreational marijuana and installed a right to an abortion in the state constitution.
A Leon County grand jury was convened to investigate, but so far no indictments or reports have been issued or released.
In response, Moody’s campaign released a statement.
“This was an Agency for Health Care Administration agreement that AHCA chose to negotiate and settle through AHCA lawyers and outside counsel almost two years ago. This information is publicly available in previously released documents,” said Cameron Gambini, communications director for Moody’s campaign.
“The Senator has had no role in any grand jury proceedings and would certainly have no issue with the public release of any report,” he said.
Vindman said he had not spoken to State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office about the release of the grand jury report.
“This is something that people need to know about when they make a decision between Ashley Moody, a corrupt politician, and somebody that served the public good and reported corruption at the highest level,” Vindman said.
Vindman, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, gained prominence when he testified during President Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings in his first term.
Vindman testified in 2019 that while on the National Security Council he witnessed Trump on a call attempt to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden and his son. At the time, Biden was gearing up to run against Trump in the 2020 election, which he eventually won.
For the first quarter, Vindman raised $8 million while Moody took in $2.6 million over the same period.
Vindman is running against Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, in the Democratic primary and has raised $14.5 million in total this year compared to Nixon’s $625,000.
Moody’s campaign has raised $10.8 million.
The winner of the U.S. Senate race will serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s term before facing reelection in 2028.
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