Florida Dem Boss Thurman Wants New Prosecutor in Greer Case

Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, continues to hammer the Republicans on the arrest of disgraced former RPOF Chairman Jim Greer. Thurman sent off a letter to William Shepherd, the prosecutor in the state attorney generals office going after Greer, demanding someone else take up the case.

To begin with, at the press conference yesterday, your office stated that the scope of the investigation was narrowly limited to the RPOF's contract with Victory Strategies LLC, wrote Thurman. This is cause for concern considering the other allegations surrounding Mr. Greer, in particular the details surrounding his dismissal and severance package, and continued questions about dozens of Republican elected officials' and party leaders' use of RPOF funds on party credit cards. While the decision to hand down indictments ultimately lies with the grand jury, the office of the statewide prosecutor has considerable sway over the direction of the proceedings.

Thurman focused on Shepherds boss -- Attorney General Bill McCollum.

Attorney General Bill McCollum was involved in Mr. Greer's severance negotiations according to news reports, and finally referred the investigation to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after months of stalling, wrote Thurman. Clearly, I am concerned that the scope of the investigation may have been purposely narrowed to avoid any potential improper conduct on the behalf of Attorney General McCollum becoming public. I have repeatedly called for Attorney General McCollum to recuse himself from involvement in this investigation, but he has failed to avoid this conflict of interest.

Thurman wrote that she wanted Shepherd off the case due to his ties to McCollum.

This leads me to your relationship with Attorney General McCollum and your ability to impartially preside over this investigation, wrote Thurman. In addition to the fact that you were appointed to your position as statewide prosecutor by Attorney General McCollum in 2007, you also donated $500 to his campaign for governor last year.

Because of your relationship with Attorney General McCollum and potentially other Republican leaders closely connected to this case, I am concerned that there is a clear conflict of interest that renders you unable to impartially investigate and prosecute this case, wrote Thurman. I am asking for you to recuse yourself from the investigation involving Mr. Greer and the RPOF, as well as any subsequent prosecutions. Because of the seriousness of the allegations, as well as the current public perception of corruption in Florida government, Floridians need to have full confidence that investigations into Mr. Greer and the Republican Party of Florida's improprieties will be based on the law and not personal or political bias. The narrow scope of the indictments released yesterday does not show that is the case.