Fla. AG Warns DOJ on Migrant Flights Investigation

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody wrote to the Department of Justice, warning it against granting California’s request to open investigations into Florida’s migrant flights.

“California’s letter requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate Florida is a ridiculous political stunt,” Moody wrote in a Thursday letter to the DOJ. “Our voluntary immigration relocation program is lawful, and California’s request fails to identify any violation of federal law.

“As an Attorney General … it is jarring that California is not competent enough to articulate even a minimal legal basis for its request. I thought California loved to tout its commitment to illegal immigrants, but now its governor does not want more immigrants in California, claiming that more of them could break his state — how ironic.”

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, urged the Justice Department to open criminal and civil investigations into Florida’s recent transportation of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Sacramento, California.

“It is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations,” Newsom said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We urge the USDOJ to investigate potential violations of federal law by those involved in this scheme.”

Some of those “false or deceptive representations,” Newsom said, were promises of housing, education, and employment opportunities.

Moody, a Republican, is calling on the DOJ to reject the request for investigations because the migrant relocation program is “voluntary” and said there is no legal basis for the claims against the state of Florida.

“You have repeatedly stated that ‘political or other improper considerations must play no role in any investigative or prosecutorial decisions.’ Yet, the Democrat Governor and Attorney General of the State of California invite you to do exactly that in their letter,” Moody wrote in her letter.

“While I would urge you not to bail out California or engage in another political investigation or litigation, if you make the unconscionable and unfounded determination to do so, Florida stands ready to fight against DOJ’s overreach.”

Moody added: “Florida has had tremendous success litigating against DOJ under the Biden Administration and I and Florida’s lawyers stand ready to depose, subpoena, and question Biden Administration officials in connection with such a proceeding.”

The California Department of Justice has opened criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances of the Sacramento flights.