SMACKDOWN: RINO-cum-Democrat Charlie Crist Faces Startling Accusations of Corruption

You may remember a politician called "Charlie Crist", if that is his real name. In 2010, Crist served as a moderate Republican Governor of Florida who felt he rightfully deserved a U.S. Senate seat. And he was the establishment favorite until a rising tide of Tea Party and Constitutional conservatism rejected his inane brand of mush and instead promoted a man named Marco Rubio to the position.

Crist behaved as one might expect of a mushy centrist. Rather than backing the winner of the primary, he -- like Arlen Specter and Dick Lugar -- quickly rejected the GOP and sought affirmation as a Democrat. He is now running for Governor under the banner of the ass donkey, but a stunning accusation has catapulted his campaign into unwelcome limelight.

Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida now seeking his old seat as a Democrat, has received the worst type of attention at the start of his campaign: a jilted former fundraiser testifying under oath that judicial nominations were up for sale on Mr. Crist’s watch.

The testimony this week by Scott Rothstein, a onetime Crist fundraiser and prominent lawyer convicted of running a $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme, stunned court observers across Florida and rocked Mr. Crist’s nascent candidacy to oust Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Scott.

...Rothstein testified that as a fundraiser he had a “quid pro quo” relationship in which he was able to encourage Mr. Crist, then the Florida governor, to name judges to the bench in Broward County who would rule favorably for his law firm.

“For certain contributions, people were appointed to the bench ,” Rothstein said in testimony reported by local news media. “I was able to convince him to do a lot of things. He knew how that game was played. I expected him to do certain things in exchange for large contributions.”

Rothstein, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison, also testified that he used his position on a commission that nominated judges for the 4th District Court of Appeals to suggest judicial appointees Mr. Crist wanted...

Color me tan. And shocked. Shocked, I say.


Hat tip: Winterspirit.