Nikki Fried Urges US Attorney to Investigate Trump’s Claims That He Used the FBI to Help DeSantis Win in 2018

The former president expressed his disapproval of DeSantis, whom he describes as  “an average Republican Governor with great public relations.”  

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried sent a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday asking for an investigation into allegations made by former President Donald Trump saying he sent federal authorities to halt ballot counting in Broward County during the 2018 election.

In a statement from Trump’s Save America PAC, Trump expressed his disapproval of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has aspirations for the presidency in 2024.

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The former president described the governor, whom he calls “Ron DeSanctimonious,” as “an average Republican Governor with great public relations.”  

In the statement, Trump talked again about how DeSantis came to him asking for an endorsement because he “had low approval, bad polls, and no money.”

Trump then claimed he stopped the election from being “stolen” in Broward County.

“I was all in for Ron, and he beat Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his Election from being stolen,” Trump wrote.

In the 2018 election, there were recounts in the races for US Senate, governor, and agriculture commissioner. Rick Scott, DeSantis, and Fried prevailed in those contests.

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“There was no broad allegation that the election was being stolen from Ron DeSantis in favor of Andrew Gillum. I know, because I was on the ballot in 2018. Although there was a recount for both the race for governor, as well as my own, there was no fraud and no foul play. To my knowledge, there was no involvement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Office of the United States Attorney,” Fried wrote to Garland.

Several Broward politicians from both parties have already said Trump’s claims of federal involvement in the 2018 contest are false.