During a news conference, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said Russian hackers were able to gain access to voter databases of two Florida counties during the 2016 election — something his predecessor, current Sen. Rick Scott, did not know.
“We’re trying to figure out what the state knew at the time,” DeSantis said. “Obviously, the previous administration and the head of FDLE did not have that information.”
DeSantis defended the integrity of the vote count in his announcement by stating election results were not compromised but, due to a deal he signed with the FBI, could not disclose which of the counties were affected.
Potential hacking of a county database was included in the Mueller Report — DeSantis said this was news to him.
“Hey, this shows up in the Mueller report, no one ever said anything to me,” DeSantis said. “Granted, I took office in 2019 and this happened in 2016, so I get why the FBI wouldn’t have rushed to tell me about something several years ago.”
The issue also came up during the 2018 Senate election, when incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson told The Tampa Bay Times that Russian hackers were able to infiltrate the state
"They have already penetrated certain counties in the state and they now have free rein to move about," Nelson said.
It’s been a week since Bill Nelson made some very serious claims about our election security, but he still hasn’t shared any details or shown any proof. He’s either lying or withholding important information about our elections.
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) August 15, 2018
Scott, his Republican opponent who was then the Governor, ridiculed Nelson for the comments— that were yet to be backed up — before riding to a slim victory in the Senate race.
Scott and others in Florida's congressional delegation are expected to receive a briefing from the FBI on the subject.
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