DeSantis asks court to toss migrant flights ruling in records case

Politico by Gary Fineout

Lawyers representing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday urged an appeals court to overturn a ruling that found the DeSantis administration improperly withheld records connected to the September flights of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

Circuit Court Judge J. Lee Marsh in late October ruled that the governor’s office was not following the state’s public records law, a decision that also sets up the administration to have to pay attorneys fees for the group that sued over the records. The governor’s office and the Florida Center for Government Accountability are still locked in a dispute over whether all the records were eventually turned over.

The legal fight, however, has gained additional urgency since DeSantis is now running for president. The first round of flights last year — which DeSantis repeatedly mentions on the campaign trail — sparked an outcry from Democrats and immigration advocates as well as multiple lawsuits.

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