Andrew Warren's chief of staff undercuts argument in DeSantis lawsuit - Tampa Bay Times

TALLAHASSEE — Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren’s main of unit told Warren not to motion a pledge that helium wouldn’t prosecute abortions, according to grounds connected Thursday, the last time successful Warren’s three-day proceedings challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ determination to region him from office.

Attorneys for DeSantis and Warren made their closing arguments Thursday aft proceeding grounds from apical officials successful some the governor’s medication and the authorities attorney’s office. A ruling won’t travel down for astatine slightest 2 weeks, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said.

During grounds Thursday, main of unit Gary Weisman said that Warren consulted him often connected nationalist statements, including the June 24 missive from the left-leaning advocacy radical Fair and Just Prosecution in which signees pledge not to prosecute termination crimes.

“I thought it was atrocious for Mr. Warren … and atrocious for the agency,” said Weisman, whom Warren hired successful 2017. Weisman, who was portrayed arsenic Warren’s closest advisor successful the office, took the missive to beryllium authoritative bureau policy, with the content that the bureau would not prosecute immoderate abortions.

“My presumption was it was an announcement that we weren’t going to prosecute cases nether the caller law,” Weisman said.

The grounds undercuts Warren’s cardinal statement successful his suit against DeSantis.

Warren has argued that the termination missive — and 1 from 2021 pledging not to prosecute crimes relating to transgender attraction — were not the office’s policies. The letters were not shared with bureau unit and were not codified into the office’s policies.

Two apical prosecutors successful the bureau person testified this week that they didn’t judge the letters were bureau policy, and 1 wasn’t alert of them until DeSantis cited them successful his Aug. 4 removal of Warren from office.

DeSantis’ attorneys person argued that they seemed similar the authoritative argumentation since they bore Warren’s sanction and title. Regardless, they were grounds that Warren was unfit for bureau by pledging a “blanket” argumentation not to enforce definite crimes, they said.

Warren has argued that the letters were constitutionally protected escaped speech, and he’s not allowed to beryllium punished for it.

Warren’s lawyers tried to situation Weisman’s credibility, noting that he’s a registered Republican. They besides mentioned that the idiosyncratic DeSantis chose to regenerate Warren, Suzy Lopez, gave him a “big hug” successful the bureau lobby erstwhile she took implicit and told him that she couldn’t bash the occupation without him. Weisman is inactive Lopez’s main of staff.

At 1 point, the back-and-forth betwixt Weisman and Warren lawyer Jean-Jacques Cabou became truthful testy that Hinkle, appointed by erstwhile President Bill Clinton, intervened. “It’s getting a small chippy retired there,” Hinkle said.

Weisman, who was called to attest by DeSantis’ attorneys, was besides asked to recount Warren’s removal.

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In the days aft Warren was removed, Weisman asked the office’s main researcher to effort to retrieve Warren’s work-issued laptop and cellphone from Warren.

The researcher wrote a study astir getting the laptop back, recounting what Warren told him. A information of the study was displayed successful tribunal connected Thursday.

“When helium gets backmost to the office, ‘A batch of radical are getting fired,’” the main researcher wrote, recounting what Warren said.

Weisman testified that helium was acrophobic that helium could get fired immoderate day, including if Warren was reinstated to the position.

Warren has argued this week that the termination and transgender letters were not pledges not to prosecute crimes. Instead, they were wide statements of his governmental beliefs.

The multipage abortion-related missive — signed by prosecutors from crossed the state — was broad-ranging, but it included the connection that “we ... refrain from prosecuting those who seek, provide, oregon enactment abortions.”

Warren said the authoritative argumentation of the bureau was to justice transgression cases connected a case-by-case basis, based connected facts and grounds and threats to nationalist safety.

But Weisman said helium understood the statements to see a pledge not to prosecute termination crimes.

Soon aft the pledge was released, Weisman sent an email to Warren astir an upcoming bureau gathering to discuss abortion-related issues.

At the time, Warren’s office, on with galore different authorities attorneys, were named arsenic defendants successful a suit challenging the 15-week termination prohibition passed by the Legislature.

In Weisman’s email up of the meeting, helium summarized that lawsuit but besides mentioned the pledge Warren signed: “I besides judge you already signed connected to a missive oregon connection from FJP (indicating) you would not prosecute.”

DeSantis’ lawyers planned to telephone his arguable erstwhile spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, to testify. Pushaw, who’s present with DeSantis’ campaign, was successful the courtroom, but attorneys seemingly made a last-minute determination not to person her testify, truthful she ne'er took the stand.

They did telephone to the basal Ryan Newman, the governor’s wide counsel and the highest-ranking fig successful the administration, to look successful tribunal for the case.

Newman said helium initially “wasn’t each that enthusiastic” astir the thought of removing Warren.

“I had immoderate trepidation astatine first,” helium said, saying helium wanted to hold until litigation challenging Florida’s 15-week termination prohibition had played out.

But the governor’s nationalist information czar, Larry Keefe, was “beating down my doorway astir this.”

Newman yet agreed that the termination pledge merited removal. The thought of a authorities lawyer flatly denying to prosecute definite crimes was against authorities instrumentality and “essentially inviting lawlessness,” Newman testified.

“I conscionable thought that was profoundly wrong,” Newman said.

When helium went to the politician to urge removing Warren, DeSantis was initially reluctant, questioning whether a pledge made to different enactment was truly bureau policy, Newman said.

But Newman “prevailed connected the governor” his position, and DeSantis agreed that helium shouldn’t person to hold until Warren was presented with an abortion-related transgression to act, Newman said.

After each broadside made their closing arguments, Hinkle said his docket made it improbable that helium was going to beryllium capable to regularisation wrong the adjacent 2 weeks. He told attorneys not to work into his questioning, which was mostly tougher connected DeSantis’ side.

“I don’t cognize who’s going to win,” helium said.