Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, wrote a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for an investigation into allegations made by former President Trump surrounding his actions during the 2018 Florida elections. The letter comes shortly after the former President claimed to have eliminated “ballot theft” in the state using the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Office of the US Attorney.
“To my knowledge, there was no involvement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Office of the US Attorney in the 2018 Florida election. If the President was tampering with state ballots, we need to know. If he is fabricating these allegations in the name of politics, we also need to know. Either way, these actions hurt our democracy and Floridians deserve to know their elections are operating with integrity.”
The letter reads as follows:
November 14, 2022
Dear Attorney General Garland:
Last week, former President Donald Trump made allegations that, with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys, he assisted in ending “ballot theft” in the 2018 election for Florida’s governor and prevented that “Election from being stolen.” It is imperative you address these allegations immediately.
There was no widespread election fraud in the 2018 Election in Florida. 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.
As you know, voter fraud and tampering with ballots is a serious charge. It is also a serious charge to make these allegations in the name of politics when no such charge occurred. This is why I strongly urge you to address this matter publicly as soon as possible.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Nicole Fried
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture
