Soros also repeats a claim — first popularized by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who backed Gascón — that murder rates are highest in Republican-run states, ignoring the fact that they are highest in Democrat-run cities.
Read the full op-ed here.
DeSantis fires a Soros prosecutor and it’s glorious
George Soros has been using his vast wealth, either directly or indirectly, to fund campaigns for hard-left prosecutors. Once in office, these prosecutors institute explicit policies that see them refusing to prosecute whole areas of criminal violations because the prosecutors disagree with state or municipal laws. People are finally starting to rebel. In San Francisco, voters booted out Chesa Boudin. In Los Angeles, the county is banning observers from the vote-counting process on the George Gascon recall. And in Florida, Gov. Ron. DeSantis just fired State Attorney Andrew Warren for failing to carry out his duties as a prosecutor.
In a democratic republic, which is the operating system in America, the people get to choose which behaviors they want to have criminalized and which they do not. Their preferences are expressed via their elected representatives or via ballot initiatives. Either way, the resulting criminal laws represent the will and values of the people.
When a defendant comes into the criminal justice system, the prosecutor in the case is not a private citizen. Instead, he (or she) is an elected politician whose job is to put into effect the above-mentioned laws the people desired. To the extent the prosecutor has “prosecutorial discretion,” it is very limited: The prosecutor looks at matters on a case-by-case basis to determine whether, in a specific case, he has the resources to try the case and the evidence and supporting law to win the case.
Image: Governor Ron DeSantis (edited). Twitter screen grab.
What the prosecutor cannot do is decide that there are types of cases he doesn’t like and, therefore, will never prosecute. Doing that abrogates the legislative function, exceeding the prosecutor’s authority. I would argue, too, that it means that, by leaving citizens as prey to criminals committing acts the citizens wanted to be criminalized, the prosecutor is violating law-abiding citizens’ civil rights. Admittedly, I don’t have case authority for that last point, but I think it’s logical and I’d love to see it argued in court.
In Florida, for the past six years, Andrew Warren, who received money from one of the PACs that George Soros funds, has announced in advance that he will not prosecute specific categories of criminal activity because he personally disagrees with Florida’s law—in other words, he has abandoned his prosecutorial role and asserted for himself a legislative role.
To that end, over the years, Warren has announced that he will not prosecute people who could, in the future, be charged with criminally mutilating children in the name of so-called “gender-affirming healthcare”; refused to prosecute people who engaged in criminal activity vis-à-vis police if the police stopped them while they were walking or riding a bike; and that he will not prosecute people who have violated Florida laws limiting abortion.
Because a prosecutor is failing in his duty if he issues a blanket refusal to enforce the law and because the Florida Constitution specifically vests in the governor the authority to fire prosecutors (unlike other states that require legislative impeachment or voter recalls), DeSantis did something wonderful: He fired Andrew Warren.
I’ve embedded at the end of this post the Executive Order of Suspension, which says in long form what I summarized in short form. I’m also embedding here videos of interest.
First, DeSantis made a powerful statement today about firing Warren:
Second, Tucker Carlson’s opening monologue discusses how the Soros prosecutors are deliberately ignoring and perverting American law and explains how Gov. DeSantis’s actions are a great start to challenging this lawlessness:
Third, here’s Gov. DeSantis’s appearance on Tucker, during which the governor summarizes the principles at issue:
Fourth, here’s the complete, official Executive Order that DeSantis issued explaining his legal authority to fire Warren:
Florida Executive Order 22-176 Firing Andrew Warren by Andrea Widburg on Scribd
Ron DeSantis Suspends Woke State Prosecutor: We Will Not Allow ‘Pathogen of Ignoring the Law’ in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is taking action against woke prosecutors who put themselves above the law, announcing the suspension of State Attorney Andrew Warren.
DeSantis, speaking from Tampa, detailed the growing emergence of woke prosecutors across the country and the frustration it has caused within the law enforcement community. These prosecutors, he explained, are effectively nullifying laws with selective enforcement, allowing crime to run rampant across the country. The governor asked for an examination of such actions in the Sunshine State and said the results pointed to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County with State Attorney Andrew Warren.
DeSantis detailed some of the egregious instances of his disregard for the rule of law — from refusing to enforce any prohibitions on sex change operations for minors, regardless of action from the legislature, to asserting that he would not enforce any laws relating to protecting the right to life in the Sunshine State.
“It’s not for him to put himself above that [the legislature’s action] and say that he is not going to enforce the laws. We don’t elect people in one part of the state to have veto power over what the entire state decides on these important issues,” DeSantis explained.
“The constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the governor, not an individual state attorneys, and so when you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty,” the governor said.
“You have neglected your duty and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties and so today, we are suspending State Attorney Andrew Warren,” DeSantis announced, vowing that his administration will not “allow this pathogen that’s been around the country of ignoring the law. We are not going to let that get a foothold here in the state of Florida.”
“We are going to make sure that our laws are enforced and that no individual prosecutor puts himself above the law,” he continued, noting that the states and localities that are doing that — allowing woke prosecutors to get away with refusing to enforce the law — are now dealing with unsafe communities “thanks to prosecutors that think they know better than the people’s representatives, and they get to pick and choose which laws that they’re enforcing.”
The decision to suspend Warren, he added, had “a lot of input around the state.”
“This is something that I think is a very, very important issue across our country that this movement would be allowed to take hold where you basically elevate your own personal conception of quote, ‘social justice’ over what the law requires of you,” he said, blasting these George Soros-backed prosecutors.
“I think today’s action is obviously warranted,” the governor added, introducing several sheriffs who lauded the governor’s decision.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said the suspension of Warren is not political, but about “law and order.”
“It’s about ensuring our loved ones are safe. It’s about the victims and their voices. There aren’t Republican and Democratic victims, just victims. They matter. And they should be heard,” he said.
“Over the last several years, State Attorney Warren has acted as an adjudicator of all as some type of supreme authority by reducing charges, dropping cases and single handedly determining what crimes will be legal or illegal in our county. Ask yourself, aren’t these the decisions for the courts or a jury of our peers?” he asked.
“As a sheriff of Hillsborough County, I am committed the law and order and I hold myself accountable to the people and would expect other elected members of our community to hold the same values. Today, Governor DeSantis is holding State Attorney Warren accountable,” he added.
Judge Susan Lopez will replace Warren, the governor announced.
