DeSantis likes to say he ‘was given nothing.’ What about that fancy golf simulator? | Opinion

It’s just a loan.

That golf simulator that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has? Not a gift. Just an indefinite loan. And it’s only being “stored” at the Governor’s Mansion. It’s not permanent. It could be whisked back to wealthy donor Morteza Hosseini at any time. Really.

And yeah, the equipment is worth tens of thousands of dollars. But don’t for a minute entertain the idea that this was a lavish present to the governor. Because that would be illegal, and the governor would never take a very expensive gift from a powerful donor like Hosseini, a University of Florida trustee, and not report it, as required by law.

That’s the laughable story the governor’s office is trying to spin after Reuters and then The Washington Post revealed the embarrassing existence of the simulator, which apparently is housed in the “Governor’s Cabana” at the mansion in Tallahassee.

A high-end golf simulator so you can work on your game in the privacy of your cabana in your taxpayer-financed mansion? Pure blue-collar stuff, all right, just the sort of thing that makes down-to-earth presidential candidate DeSantis such a natural on the campaign trail when he tries to connect with people in the heartland of America.

The Post reported that two employees from an Ohio-based company called AboutGolf were cleared by security to enter the mansion in June 2019 to install the simulator, which can run anywhere from $27,500 to about $69,000 for the curved-screen kind.

Want to bet what kind the governor got?

Reporting gifts

Florida law requires that public officials file quarterly reports for any gift over $100, but the governor’s office insists that this whole thing is legal. There’s even a letter to Hosseini from James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ chief of staff and a lawyer, to say so.

“I have reviewed and approved the circumstances of this loan to the Mansion Commission and verify that it is permissible in accordance with the Governor’s Ethics Code and Florida Statutory Code,” the letter says, according to the Post.

Hosseini, a DeSantis ally who also has repeatedly allowed the governor to use his private plane, told Reuters that the donation was “entirely permissible under Florida law.”

And Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis’ spokesman, offered a statement that carefully drew a line between a donation to the governor versus one to the mansion, telling the Post: “Donations to the residence and grounds have been received over many administrations. It will remain in the state’s possession for the use of first families, their guests and staff as it is now.”

That may be key when it comes to keeping this transaction just within the letter of the law. If it’s a loan to a state agency — the Mansion Commission — rather than to the governor, it’s apparently legal.

So maybe this is all OK. Maybe it’s fine for someone who seems to be seeking influence in state — and perhaps national — government to bestow expensive personal presents. As long as everyone can claim that the gifts are for the “mansion” and not the governor, where’s the harm?

But then there’s this: The ethics manual of the Executive Office of the Governor, according to the Post, says employees “may not accept a benefit of any sort when a reasonable observer could infer that the benefit was intended to influence a pending or future decision of the employee, or to reward a past decision.”

And there’s common sense. Can anyone seriously believe that a person or entity that sends the governor — oh wait, the governor’s mansion — a gift that costs as much as a car wouldn’t expect preferential treatment? Even if the Florida Ethics Commission — which has yet to receive a complaint on the topic — were to sign off on this clear attempt to get around the gifts law, that’s not enough. This deal still smells.

DeSantis likes to say in stump speeches that he had to work for everything he has: “I was given nothing. I had to earn what I got.”

It’s hard to explain a fancy golf simulator from a donor sitting in your cabana, if that still holds true.

A governor shouldn’t be trying to get around a law that’s supposed to keep him from being beholden to special interests. He shouldn’t be trying to slip one past us. And the nation should reject anyone who holds the view that this is acceptable behavior while they run for the highest office in the land.

We already had a president who tried to twist the law or ignore it entirely in service of his own, selfish goals. We don’t need another one.