MSM Knives Are Out For DeSantis Over Super PAC "Illegal Coordination" Claims
With Former President Donald Trump firmly in the lead of the 2024 GOP primary field (nothing new), the establishment's only hope appears to be with Nikki Haley.
To that end, the Washington Post took the opportunity to seize and pounced on DeSantis' super PAC, Never Back Down, for allegedly coordinating with the campaign. Hours after the report was published, a top strategist left the operation.
On Monday, nonprofit watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint alleging that DeSantis "illegally coordinated" with the super PAC, and that Never Back Down violated an "explicit legal requirement that super PACs must remain ‘independent.'"
As The Hill describes things, this is the latest in a "string of setbacks and shakeups" for the Florida governor's campaign, "as he struggles to hold on to second place in the Republican presidential field."
"When things go badly in a campaign, the wheels tend to come off. There’s a lot of finger-pointing, there’s a lot of blame, and it inevitably spills out into the public and just compounds the problems," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, adding that the Post's story of "a trouble structure" within the campaign and super PAC, "read like a post-mortem."
GOP strategist Doug Heye said it’s not clear whether the reports of super PAC tumult signal the wheels coming off DeSantis’s campaign — or if the wheels actually “have never actually been on.”
Never Back Down chairman Scott Wagner said in a statement to The Post that senior officials were terminated “following mismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information.”
But a lawyer for the employees claimed Wagner’s assertions were false, and the statement was revised to refer to “opinions regarding mismanagement and conduct issues” and to say the super PAC and the senior officials “parted ways,” according to the report. -The Hill
"I cannot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down (NBD) given the statements in the Washington Post today. They are not true and an unwanted distraction at a critical time for Governor DeSantis," said Never Back Down adviser Jeff Roe, following his departure from the super PAC.
I can’t believe it ended this way. I’m so proud to have worked alongside these men and women at NBD 24/7 the past nine months to save the country. Good luck the next 28 days and a wake up. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. pic.twitter.com/Rh4oQQ1tAE
— Jeff Roe (@jeffroe) December 17, 2023
Talk to the hand...
The DeSantis campaign is putting on a good face, saying in a statement: "We have full confidence in the NBD ground game and field operation, which is second to none. There is a stellar team in place and we appreciate their independent efforts to fight for Ron DeSantis."
On Monday, DeSantis reportedly said that Roe's resignation is "not a distraction," and stressed that he has nothing to do with the "separate entity."
Of course... then we have this:
