Thread by @EvanDonovan

THIS MORNING on #BattlegroundFlorida —

@GovRonDeSantis executive order suspending @AndrewWarrenFL specifically listed him signing two pledges not to prosecute cases on abortion and transgender health care

@HCSOSheriff, @ChiefDuganRet and @MBeltranFL also listed recent cases

https://twitter.com/EvanDonovan/status/1556264825998774272

"It's both," says @PeterSchorschFL on whether DeSantis is overreaching or enforcing rule of law. "It reminds me of Minority Report: he's taken @AndrewWarrenFL out not for things he has done, but things he said he would do. Technically, he's following existing [abortion] law."

"There was a lot of mumbo jumbo about how [Tampa] is like Portland. Tampa is far removed from Portland or Seattle or SF ... You have a police chief running Tampa. If there's been any complaint about Tampa, it's that it's been OVERpoliced...including by the federal government."

"That all being said, it's great politics for DeSantis," says @PeterSchorschFL. "One thing though: I think this move scares people, more so than 'Don't Say Gay', more than the battle against transgender Floridians. It feels as tyrannical as almost anything DeSantis has done."

"No, I don't think it's an overreach," says city/state government attorney @RAHarrisonPA, a Republican. "The notion we have to wait for an elected official to actually refuse to do something before the governor can suspend I think is pretty well rejected in Florida law."

"The Supreme Court has said clearly: a prosecutor cannot make a categorical decision not to prosecute certain crimes. We have a group of people who decide what the law is. There's one person who gets to veto. State attorney has nothing to do with any of that," says @RAHarrisonPA

"As far as this being a political stunt, let's concede anything [@GovRonDeSantis] does is infused with some level of politics. So what? Anybody think @AndrewWarrenFL signing off on that letter was not political? That's a policy statement [on abortion bans]. Again, not his job."

Panel points out then-Gov. @SenRickScott (R) didn't remove former state attorney and current Fla. AG candidate @AramisAyalaFL (D) over death penalty cases, he just removed those cases from her jurisdiction.

"Folks, this is what happens in South America," says @culvert, political consultant and a Democrat. "It's what my family fled in Nicaragua. It's what my husband fled in Venezuela...selectively enforced laws and targeting people on others."

"Past govs have suspended/removed officeholders for breaking the law. That should scare everybody: they [DeSantis staffers] were celebrating what should be a rare move. This sends a chilling effect to any officeholder that this Gov sees himself as absolute & supreme power in FL"

Me: If you're @AndrewWarrenFL, why sign letters vs. just refusing to prosecute individual cases?

@culvert: "I'm sure the governor has signed different pledges, signaled things he's gonna do. It's [Warren's] duly elected right to tell constituents how he'll handle certain cases."

What's the impact on midterms of Kansas voters overwhelmingly protecting abortion rights?

"I think everybody is reading way too much into what happened in Kansas, on all sides," says @RichardAHarrisonPA

"It shows Republican overreach is on the ballot in November," says @culvert

"The idea that [abortion rights] is gonna be forgotten about in the next few months...I don't care how good the NFL is," says @PeterSchorschFL.

"Abortion rights voters — people reacting to the Dobbs decision — are the silent Trump voters of this year's election."

The panel also discussed the final weeks of the Democratic primary race for Florida governor between @NikkiFried and @CharlieCrist

Watch the whole show here @WFLA.com:
wfla.com/video/battlegr…