TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Democrats are calling on Governor DeSantis to turnover a nondisclosure agreement he made with FBI officials following a briefing on the Russian hacking of voter data in two Florida counties.
During a Tuesday news conference, the Republican governor disclosed some limited details of the hack, which happened prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Hackers didn't manipulate any data and the election results weren't compromised, according to the governor. But, DeSantis said he couldn’t name the counties involved due to the agreement with FBI officials.
RECOMMENDED: Russian hackers accessed voting databases in two Florida counties, Governor DeSantis says
Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Terrie Rizzo, has now filed a public records request to get a look at the NDA, also calling for notes as well as “letters, memoranda or communications” in relation to the FBI’s briefing.
"Governor DeSantis claimed that he signed a nondisclosure agreement with the Trump administration,” Rizzo said in a statement. “If he did, then the people of Florida have a right to know what he actually signed and why was an NDA even used in the first place.”
While Governor DeSantis said at the Tuesday news conference he thought the counties should be named, he was uncertain as to why the FBI requested the NDA. DeSantis speculated it was likely due to the sensitive nature of the agency’s investigation.
“I think that they think, if we name the counties, that may reveal information to the perpetrators— that we know what they did,” DeSantis said. “But, you’d have to ask them.”
The governor said the hackers had gained access to the data by way of a spearfishing email after a worker clicked on a link. Both counties have been made aware of the intrusion.
Requests for further comment from the DeSantis’ office weren’t immediately returned.
