Miami Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla spoke after leaving jail. Here’s what he said.
In his first public statements following his arrest, Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla defiantly described charges of bribery and money laundering levied against him as “a work of fiction” that amounts to a political attack.
“This is a Democrat state attorney from Broward County who is targeting a Republican Commissioner from Miami,” the commissioner told reporters as he emerged from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center just after 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Read more: Miami Commissioner Díaz de la Portilla arrested on bribery, money laundering charges
Díaz de la Portilla, who was booked at the jail hours earlier after an investigation by the Broward State Attorney’s Office led to a host of charges against the commissioner and lobbyist William Riley Jr., exited the detention center to find a crowd of reporters waiting for him amid a light rain. He compared his case to the numerous allegations facing former President Donald Trump, who has frequently referred to efforts to prosecute him as “witch hunts.”
“The same that’s happening to President Trump, at the national level, with four different false prosecutions, is happening to me in Miami at the local level,” he said.
Although the commissioner acknowledged he had not read the entire arrest warrant, he said there is no truth to the allegations against him. He specifically denied accusations of money laundering or that he took money from his brother’s judicial campaign.
Díaz de la Portilla, who is up for reelection this year, said he is not worried about his campaign. The commissioner said he is confident that he will win because the people in his community know and trust him.
Read more: Alex Díaz de la Portilla’s political career is marked by both power and conflict
The commissioner added that he’s not concerned about the possibility of Gov. Ron DeSantis removing him from office. In the past, sitting elected officials who have been charged with crimes have been removed by the governor.
Related Content: Here are the criminal charges against Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla
Díaz de la Portilla described Riley, who left Turner Knight Correctional Facility about 30 minutes before the commissioner, as a friend of over 20 years who he has routinely worked with. Riley, an attorney and lobbyist, similarly faces money laundering accusations.
The investigation began in Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s office, but her office requested for the inquiry to be reassigned because due to a close relationship with Riley’s family. DeSantis, a Republican, handed the investigation over to Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor.
