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TALLAHASSEE – When Republican Ron DeSantis resigned from Congress this week, his departure shut down an ethics complaint that had not advanced to the level of an investigation since it was filed five months ago.
The complaint, which alleged DeSantis rented out a Palm Coast beachfront condo at a "well below fair market value," did not advance to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics, which reviews claims against congressional members if warranted.
But it raised questions about the three-term congressman's close ties to two campaign donors, who work as top executives at Total Military Management, a Jacksonville-based defense contractor that has spent more than $700,000 since 2012 lobbying the federal government.
Allies of DeSantis argue the complaint was a political stunt against the former congressman, who is now running against Democrat Andrew Gillum, a candidate who continues to face questions about trips with a lobbyist to Costa Rica and New York.
Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, was slapped with an ethics complaint last year because of those travel arrangements that could also be tied to an ongoing FBI investigation into the city.
While Gillum has not been directly implicated in the federal investigation, DeSantis’ political team often tries to highlight his connections to it.
“When it comes to Andrew Gillum’s Tallahassee dealings, his dizzying web of deception is quickly entangling his bid for governor,” DeSantis’ camp said in a written statement this month.
The DeSantis living arrangement, first reported by Politico Florida, that led to the ethics complaint filed against him was for a five-month period in 2016 when he was running for re-election.
The courts had recently approved new district maps that drew DeSantis' house in St. Johns County out of his congressional district. That prompted DeSantis to rent the beachfront Palm Coast condo from Kent Stermon and Matt Connell while he looked for a house in Flagler County in his congressional district.
DeSantis paid $2,000 a month to stay there. But Miami lawyer Richard Ruben, who filed a complaint against DeSantis with the U.S. House Office of Congressional Ethics, said he was “troubled that Rep. DeSantis was potentially gifted, by a close campaign contributor and lobbyists, a condominium to reside in.”
Ruben declined to comment this week and hung up the phone when contacted for an interview.
More:Andrew Gillum leads Ron DeSantis for Florida governor, says Chamber of Commerce poll
U.S. House rules state members are not allowed to knowingly accept gifts, a term broadly defined as a “favor, discount, hospitality … or any other item having monetary value.”
The rent paid by DeSantis, however, is in line with market value estimates of $2,000 a month for the condo, according to Zillow.com, which tracks real estate sales and rental data.
The Office of Congressional Ethics forwards complaints to the Committee on Ethics if the claims warrant review.
“He was never notified about any investigation” by either the Office of Congressional Ethics or the Committee of Ethics, campaign spokesman Stephen Lawson said.
With DeSantis out of Congress, those entities have now lost jurisdiction over the complaint.
As the FBI investigation clouds Gillum’s candidacy, DeSantis’ ethics complaint has barely impacted his race, even though Stermon and Connell continue to keep their close ties to DeSantis.
Since February, both have given a total of $19,000 to the gubernatorial candidate's campaign and political action committee.
Since DeSantis' first House race in 2012, Stermon and Connell each have given $10,500 in political contributions to him. The defense company’s political action committee, which cites Stermon as the treasurer, also contributed more than $18,000 to DeSantis in the six-year period, according to federal campaign finance records.
More:Ron DeSantis resigns from Congress to focus on Florida's gubernatorial campaign
Lobbying disclosure forms also show the defense company spent more than $700,000 to lobby the federal government on Department of Defense issues since 2012. DeSantis was the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Relations Committee’s subcommittee on national security, which oversee the Defense Department.
DeSantis' stay in the Palm Coast condo ended when he bought a house in Flagler County. The purchase was finalized about a week before the November 2016 election, which DeSantis won.
In May 2018, DeSantis and his wife, Casey, sold it to former GOP Kansas U.S. Rep. Marc Rhoades and his wife, Denise.
Months before the house was sold, in December 2017, DeSantis moved back to his house in St. Johns County, and out of his congressional district.
While the U.S. Constitution does not require members of Congress to live in their districts, they often are criticized if they do not.
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