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Judge in Washington Post lawsuit says Florida can’t hide cost of DeSantis’ travel

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Judge in Washington Post lawsuit says Florida can’t hide cost of DeSantis’ travel

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A Tallahassee-based circuit judge has ruled against The Washington Post’s argument that a new Florida law concealing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ travel records is unconstitutional – but also rejected the state’s broad interpretation of what records the law applies to.

“It’s a mixed ruling for sure, but I want to focus on the positive, which is that it’s a clear win for the public as it relates to how much their governor spends on travel,” said Michael Barfield, director of public access initiatives for the Florida Center for Government Accountability, which advocates for openness of state records.

The upshot is that the Post has been OK’d to receive certain financial records related to the governor’s travel.

“Reimbursement checks and invoices for travel … are beyond the travel and security exemption in that they are purely financial with no security or law enforcement implication,” Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom wrote in a Wednesday ruling.

The decision comes after a hearing several weeks ago, where an official overseeing FDLE’s protective operations acknowledged that the release of such records wouldn’t endanger the governor.

To be sure, the judge didn’t say that all records The Washington Post sought were protected by the law, such as previous security plans and agreements. And Sjostrom also said alleged efforts of the governor and his staff to suppress the travel records were of “little relevance,” even though they were mentioned in the legal proceedings.

Going against the Post’s take that the law defied the state constitution, the judge upheld the lawmakers’ reason for passing the legislation, which was to protect the governor, his family and other officials, and wrote that it was properly tailored to do so.

“The court must be mindful of the legislative policy judgment that physical safety and security are at stake,” Sjostrom said. He is allowing the state to hold off sending the non-exempt records for a couple of weeks, in case of an appeal.

Requests for comment to FDLE, the governor’s office and the Post were pending as of Thursday evening.

Katherine Anthony, deputy chief counsel for American Oversight, another organization that advocates for public records transparency, said in a statement that it appeared the court “undertook a careful analysis of the documents.”

But, she added, “none of this would be an issue if Governor DeSantis was open and transparent with the public about his travel and use of taxpayer dollars.” American Oversight, like the Florida Center for Government Accountability, has filed other public records litigation in Florida.

“Going forward, the public will need to watch closely to ensure that Florida government agencies apply this exemption as narrowly as possible to meet the stated safety and security purpose, not to hide embarrassing details from scrutiny,” Anthony said.

Can’t read the document above? Click here.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. On X: @DouglasSoule.

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