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Crist FactSheet

Charlie Crist
Trouble with Ethics

Proud of the Man Behind the Iraq War
Crist: Not Concerned About Being Linked to Bush; Proud of Bush. "Crist said he has no reservations about standing side-by-side with a president whose popularity has slipped substantially because of the growing public opposition to the war in Iraq ... 'I'm not concerned with being linked with him at all,' Crist said. 'I'm proud of my president. I’m proud of the commander in chief.'" [St. Petersburg Times, 9/18/06]

Campaign Now, Follow the Law Later
Crist Accepted Contributions Over Legal Limit; Failed to Disclose Pertinent Information. According to the Miami Herald, Charlie Crist's July 2005 reporting of financial contributions for his campaign for governor was questioned. According to the article, records showed at least two-dozen contributions that exceeded the legal amount of $500. As well, records failed to show the required occupations of more than 1,800 contributors who give more than $100. According to the article, Crist's campaign advisor Mac Stipanovich said they returned the funds that exceeded the limits and volunteers at the campaign were still contacting contributors to determine their occupations. Stipanovich: "There will be meticulous compliance with the law and you will see that reflected in the next report." [Miami Herald, 07/14/05]

Crist Thinks Bush Does a Heckuva Job Responding to Severe Weather
Crist Was Pleased With Bush Administration's "Quick Response" to Severe Weather in Florida. Crist appeared as a guest on CNN's Larry King Live where and he was asked if he had spoken to President Bush about the recent severe weather in Florida. Crist responded, "Yeah, I did. I spoke with President Bush this afternoon, expressing to him our concern about getting federal aid through FEMA and homeland security to make sure that Florida got enough to make sure our people got the provisions that they need. The food, the water, the ice, the kinds of thing the federal government can come in with. And aid, the state government and local governments as we respond to this disaster today ... He was very encouraging and the -- he was very encouraging, as I say, and said we should expect help very soon. The FEMA director is going to be down here in central Florida tomorrow morning. We expect to take a tour with him probably around 9:00 tomorrow morning. So we are very pleased about that and that quick response." [CNN Larry King Live, 2/2/07]

Embarrassing for Crist, Terrible for the Public Trust
A Crist Fundraiser Created "Some Embarrassment for Crist" When One of the Attendees Was an Individual Who Crist Was Supposed to Investigate and Another Was a Foreign Government Official Illegally in the US. "A $500-a-plate fundraiser hosted by Donald Trump at the New York billionaire's West Palm Beach estate ... turned up a couple of potential contributors that have created some embarrassment for gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist's campaign. One is a former Ukrainian government official once charged with corruption in his home country who was in the U.S. illegally, and the other is a businessman being investigated on complaints of deceptive advertising by the attorney general's office headed by Crist. A campaign spokeswoman told The Tampa Tribune that neither man, Volodomyr Shcherban of Ukraine or Cape Coral businessman Russell Whitney, made contributions at the fundraiser. However, two of Whitney's companies previously had made $500 contributions, the maximum allowed. The newspaper was then told by the campaign that those contributions would be returned." [Associated Press, 2/12/06]

No Effect Across the Aisle
March 2008: Poll Says Crist Would Not Help McCain's Chances in Florida. A March 2008 poll of Florida voters showed Crist on the Republican ticket as having no effect on 87% of Floridians. The Tampa Bay Times The Buzz blog reported, "Three percent (of Floridians) said Crist as running mate would make them 'much more likely,' 6 percent said 'somewhat more likely,' and 87 percent said it would have no effect. The telephone survey of 600 registered and frequent Democratic voters in Florida was conducted March 15-17 for the St. Petersburg Times, Bay News 9 and the Miami Herald." [Tampa Bay Times the Buzz blog, 3/19/08]