Peter Schorsch
There are only three people who know the truth about what went down on December 16, 2014, when FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey was dismissed without the necessary consent of the Florida Cabinet. Those people are: Gov. Rick Scott, his underqualified Chief of Staff Melissa Sellers, and his seasoned general counsel, Pete Antonacci.
Antonacci is the hatchet-man who axed Bailey. Neither Scott nor Sellers were present during the meeting, but the conversation during that meeting is no longer in dispute. Bailey says he was told to “retire or resign,” and given the impression by Antonacci that he no longer enjoyed the support of the Florida Cabinet, at least one of which must vote with the governor before Bailey can be fired. The Governor’s Office has not disputed this account, either. In fact, the governor has acknowledged that he wanted Bailey forced out.
So, the real question is, who gave Antonacci the order to fire Bailey, and what, if anything, did Antonacci ask Sellers or the governor before complying with the order?
One of the primary duties of the governor’s general counsel is to advise the governor and his staff on compliance with the state’s constitution and state laws.
And it’s downright preposterous to believe that Pete Antonacci didn’t know the law. He’s an experienced Florida attorney. He not only served as Florida’s statewide prosecutor for three years, but he also served as deputy attorney general for seven years, and then served as a special prosecuting counsel in a series of Senate impeachment trials of state elections supervisors. Between 2001 and 2005, he even served as a member of the Florida Commission on Ethics.
In short, Pete Antonacci isn’t a buffoon. There is no question that he knows Florida’s law and Constitution inside and out. And there is no question he knew that the Cabinet’s consent was required before he gave the ultimatum to Bailey.
That means he either willfully ignored the Florida Constitution, or Scott and/or Sellers used false information to convince him he had the backing of the Florida Cabinet to remove Bailey.
In the hours before Pete Antonacci met with Gerald Bailey, did Rick Scott or Melissa Sellers lie to him, or did Antonacci willfully ignore the law?
Floridians deserve to know the truth.
