Democratic lawmakers demand an investigation into why the longtime commissioner for the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement was forced out.
For eight years Jerry Bailey led FDLE with a commitment to transparency.
But Bailey was forced to resign last month, and critics said Gov. Rick Scott has been anything but transparent about how and why it happened.
Scott was badgered by reporter questions Tuesday at an event in Lake Mary.
"Again, I can tell you, say it again, Commissioner Bailey did a great job," Scott said Tuesday.
Bailey went public about what happened. He said the governor's chief of staff, Melissa Sellers, who ran Scott's re-election campaign, pushed him out as a punishment for not giving money to the Scott campaign, not agreeing to meet with campaign staff and not following an order to shift the blame for the escape of two prison inmates to an innocent Orange County court clerk.
The governor's office denies any of what Bailey said is true, and today Gov. Scott continued to downplay the story.
"Look, I've done the right things. Jerry Bailey, he left, he did the right thing," Scott said.
The top Democrats in the Florida House and Senate want Scott and the state cabinet to review Bailey's resignation.
House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford said it's possible the governor and his team broke state and federal anti-corruption laws, meaning the legislature may have to get involved, along with criminal prosecutors.
"This issue is perhaps bigger than passing a budget," Rep. Mark Pafford, D-Minority Leader. "I mean, this is everything a democracy is about, and once you have doubt in an agency like the FDLE, then what's next?"
The state cabinet holds its next meeting Feb. 5. So far, there's no plan to put the FDLE controversy on the agenda.