TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Probable cause has been found against Dustin Daniels for "misusing his public position" to secure special benefits for others.
The complainant, Jennings Lawton DePriest, filed the lawsuit in October.
DePriest refers to a 2017 grand jury investigation into a complaint that Mayor Gillum's office had spent about $4,000 on campaign email software using taxpayer money.
Former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum's former Chief of Staff, Dustin Daniels, is being accused of "misusing his public position" to secure special benefits for others.
In a statement DePriest said:
"The violation of public trust by a public official is a serious matter, especially when that violation involves the misuse of taxpayer dollars for personal political gain. I applaud the Florida Commission on Ethics for holding Dustin accountable. Hopefully, Mr. Daniels takes responsibility for his wrongdoing by settling with the Commission quickly and without any additional costs to our taxpayers."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee mayoral candidate spoke out on Wednesday after a complaint was filed against him with the Florida Commission of Ethics.
Mayor Andrew Gillum's former Chief of Staff, Dustin Daniels, is being accused of "misusing his public position" to secure special benefits for others.
Jennings Lawton DePriest filed the complaint on Tuesday.
DePriest refers to a 2017 grand jury investigation into a complaint that Mayor Gillum's office had spent about $4,000 on campaign email software using taxpayer money.
The grand jury found that out of 106 emails sent, four could have been classified as political advertisements, but after the investigation the grand jury found no evidence of official misconduct.
"The grand jury found that Andrew Gillum misused public dollars and that Dustin Daniels was a part of that," said DePriest. "He was the only one who had a password and even though they couldn't prove criminal intent they were already found to have violated the public's trust and I'm asking the state ethics committee to hold them accountable."
"This was an issue that was looked at extensively by law enforcement, by our local ethics committee, and each time it was found to be unfounded. It was found that nothing wrong was done," said Dainels." So again, this is just politics at it's worst. And this is John Dailey working with Republican operatives to slander the name of his opponent as well as Mayor Andrew Gillum, who is going to be our next governor."
Depriest says he filed the complaint to "assure that our public officials are held to the highest standard of ethics."
Daniels says he is going to continue to focus on the issues and not let the complaint sway him in anyway.
