Kendra Arnold filed an ethics complaint against Democratic Senator Bill Nelson for saying Russia had infiltrated the Florida voter system. And was free to roam around. Also, she is the executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.
There are only two possible reasons why Nelson said this. He either lied about it to gain sympathy and to make voters think a Republican fix was in the works. Or Nelson revealed classified information, which is illegal. The latter is extremely unlikely… Rather both the state of Florida and the Department of Homeland Security say there has been no breach.
Since he leveled the explosive charge, Mr. Nelson has made some effort to distance himself from the specifics. At a private meeting with supporters that was videotaped, he said he was speaking more generally and that it was reasonable to think the Russians would meddle given their track record.
FACT is a conservative nonprofit that has filed charges against Democratic candidates in the past. Two years ago, for instance, the group accused Democrat Ted Strickland of illegally coordinating with Super PACs in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman.
In response to the complaint, Republican Party officials noted former NSA translator Reality Winter was sentenced to 5 years in prison Thursday for leaking classified information to the press.
He has now practically admitted he was lying. Whether the Senate Ethics Committee takes action or not, the voters in Florida will know he made the story up. Nelson is getting desperate as poll after poll shows he’s losing his seat to the very popular governor of Florida, Rick Scott.