Asked to comment on the scandal enveloping one of his major donors, Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein, Gov. Charlie Crist said, "I hesitate to comment until I have all the facts."
His comment contrasts with the response from Democrat Alex Sink, who moved quickly to distance herself from Rothstein and said she would be returning donations to her gubernatorial campaign from him and his wife.
In an interview a couple of months ago, Rothstein said he raised $237,000 for Crist at a fundraiser at his home on June 26. He also said his law firm was opening an office in Washington on K Street, a thoroughfare known for its high-powered lobbying firms. A couple excerpts from the interview:
If you look back at my political history, I was completely uninvolved in politics until I met Charlie. I met him when he was running for attorney general through the guys I consider my political mentors – Bill Scherer, John Collins, Jim Blosser…I was pretty much awestruck by the guy (Crist). He knew what he was talking about and seemed to be a man of his word. He and I had a couple of subsequent meetings. He came to my office twice and we spoke on the phone a bunch. The fundraiser I did for him was the first I ever threw in my life. It was at Burt & Jack's (in Fort Lauderdale). We raised six figures in one night and it was my first foray into the fundraising field...Once I got involved in his attorney general's race it
snowballed…I've made a lot of fantastic business connections and
lifelong relationhips...
I liked that he was a straight shooter. I never felt he was blowing smoke. And I liked the fact that he didn't always agree with me… He made a very strong commitment to us that he was going to get the Dan Marino autism bill passed. He put his power where his mouth is. He doesn't say he's going to help you and then fail to do what he says.
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