Nixon defends call to put opponent Moody in jail

Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon defended her recent call to put her GOP opponent Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) in jail over accusations she approved of mishandling taxpayer funds into a charity called Hope Florida.

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Saturday, Nixon was asked whether her calls for Moody to be “locked up and punished in jail” sounded “like a desire to weaponize the justice system?”

“It’s not a desire to weaponize the justice system. It’s designed to actually hold corrupt politicians accountable for what they’re doing,” Nixon said. “Again, I want an investigation done. I would like the Department of Justice to investigate because nearly $10 million was stolen from sick kids, and people are pointing the finger saying they don’t know who did it, and so we need to bring that in.”

“Look, this is Donald Trump 2.0 here in the state of Florida, and we really need to work to push back. I’m wondering how many kids are going to die because 10 million dollars was taken from Medicaid that was supposed to make sure that those sick kids had the treatment that they needed,” she continued.

Nixon has repeatedly bashed Moody on the welfare scandal as a sealed grand jury report — obtained by CBS News Miami — found $10 million of the total $67 million settlement agreement from the state’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene, went to Hope Florida as a “donation.”

The report found the money was used by organizations that helped campaign against a Florida ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in 2024 instead of helping “community-based welfare programs” that were intended to be “a cost-efficient alternative to government assistance programs.”

Moody, who was Florida’s attorney general at the time, was reportedly aware of the plan to divert the payment and “authorized” her former chief deputy attorney general, John Guard, to sign the settlement agreement, according to the grand jury report.

Moody is up for reelection this year after being appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to take over Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s seat in the Senate. She faces off against Nixon, a Florida state representative, who won her Democratic primary in a shocking win earlier this year.

Since her primary win, Nixon notched support from key progressive lawmakers — including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who campaigned with her last week.

Though Republicans are facing a rocky midterm environment amid growing voter dissatisfaction with the economy, Moody has been maintaining a double-digit lead over Nixon in recent polling.

Moody’s campaign did not respond immediately to The Hill’s request for comment.