florida governor, ron desantis abruptly removed a twice elected prosecutor just last year, why? because he refused to go after people who seek and provide abortions or provide gender affirming care to transgender people. andrew warren sued desantis and now a federal judge dismissed that lawsuit saying his action of the governor did violate the first amendment and florida s constitution, but, as a federal judge he couldn t rule against a state official based only on the violation of state law. and the wake of that ruling today, andrew warren joins me now. andrew, thank you for coming, i know that we talked when this first happened so i ve been curiously following this particular suit, and the federal judge did take governor desantis word for the suspension, but, he upheld it, why do you think that was in your opinion? thank you for having me back. as you said, the judge took the governor s to task. the governor violated federal and state law in suspending me. he said that t
that position either known or for signing that letter? no, i have no regrets whatsoever. i mean, i believe that not only do i have a first amendment right to speak out about issues of public importance, but, as an elected official, i have a duty to the constituents in my county to tell them who i am as a prosecutor, and they know who i am. they know what i m going to do. and so, i stood up for what i believe in. i stood up for what s right. the judge vindicated us on the facts and the law today. and we accomplished what we set out to do, almost all the way. i mean, again, this was about making sure that the governor s held accountable. that people see this for what it was, a political stunt. the judge made it clear, that s what it was. i would love to be reinstated we have to figure out the next best step to get there. andrew warren, thank you for your time. nice speaking with you again. thank you, have a good night. with me now, garrett tawle,
the director of the democracy and citizen institute. he s former federal prosecutor, elliott, let me begin with you, here, do you agree with the judge s opinion about the first amendment having been violated here, but, i wonder about the larger issue. a prosecutor that says, listenious i m not going to be prosecuting or seeking prosecution of people who follow or seek safe harbor under a particular law or are seeking to get an abortion. some talk about the discretion that all prosecutors have, but, there is a lot of criticism wielded against prosecutors who have been vocal about what they don t intend to do. laura, i feel like this is my night for talking about former colleagues of mine who are now more successful than i am, because, andrew and i went to law school together. let s be clear, there s nothing new