Backroom Briefing: Weekly political notes from The News Service of Florida

By Jim Turner ©2025 The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Directed to investigate possible wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines, a statewide grand jury released a report Tuesday that found “deceptive and obfuscatory behavior” that “straddled the line between ethical and unethical conduct.”

While it didn’t find criminal activity, the grand jury recommended a series of changes at the state and federal levels.

“While a few of our recommendations are specific to the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, we also believe that our other recommendations could serve as a basis for substantive public policy changes that would be in the best interests of the American people, who rely upon the quality and safety of our regulatory system for all pharmaceutical products,” the report said.

For example, at the state level, the report questioned a time limit for statewide grand juries, which, with a six-month extension, can run for 18 months, and called for putting criminal sanctions in law for not complying with statewide grand jury subpoenas. The report said multinational corporations that were part of the COVID-19 investigation were headquartered outside of Florida.

“If those subpoena recipients had chosen to raise legal challenges to our subpoenas, it might have taken many months to shepherd those challenges through the trial and appellate courts before we could even begin receiving documents,” the report states. “This did not come to pass, but there is no reason to expect that will be the case in future statewide grand juries.”

The report also called for Florida to enact “more widespread monitoring of wastewater for pathogens.”

“During the pandemic, states were able to glean valuable insight regarding the geographic spread of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) by monitoring viral load in samples gathered from wastewater treatment facilities,” the report said.

At the federal level, for example, the report called for new clinical trials of the vaccines and regulations against a “revolving door” in which employees move between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the private sector.

“We understand that prior experience in the regulatory arm of a particular industry can be an attractive quality in a potential job candidate, just as private sector experience can help a regulator interface with these private actors,” the report said. “This phenomenon has clearly produced a ‘fellow traveler’ attitude between the pharmaceutical companies and the agencies designed to regulate them. The boats of the regulators and the regulated are not supposed to be rowing in the same direction.”

The grand jury did not pursue criminal charges, in part, because it did not uncover activities involving vaccine makers and distributors that were not approved by federal regulators, the report said. Also, the grand jury did not find “statements that were both objectively false and sufficiently precise to support a criminal prosecution.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic gave sponsors (pharmaceutical companies) enormous leverage over federal regulators, and they were certainly not afraid to use it. Still, regulators had the responsibility to recognize and temper these intentions,” the report said. “It is hard to lay blame solely at the feet of the pharmaceutical industry for cutting regulatory comers when government actors were holding their hand the whole way. The lack of tension between federal regulators and sponsors is a significant problem.”

The grand jury was set up in December 2022, as Gov. Ron DeSantis was planning to embark on a run for the Republican presidential nomination. The report said the grand jury “did not draft this final report to win any arguments or settle any scores.”

“Given the political, social and cultural wars that have been waged over the last four years, asking those who read this document to keep an open mind is probably asking for too much,” the report said. “Instead, we will just say that no matter what anyone’s prior opinions are regarding these issues, our findings will likely confirm some of them and debunk others.”

TAPPED TOGETHER

Two beer-industry lobbying groups have joined forces heading into the 2025 legislative session as they seek to uphold the state’s distribution system and meet “the evolving demands of beer consumers across the state.”

The Florida Beer Wholesalers Association and the Beer Industry of Florida on Monday announced they would work together under the wholesalers association banner.

Association Chairman David Bear, CEO of Pensacola-based Lewis Bear Company, said in a news release that the merger will strengthen lobbying efforts to “protect” the state’s Depression-era three-tier regulation system. That system requires separation of manufacturing, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages.

“It is our mission to maintain consumer access to the diversity and quality they value while preserving a system that benefits every part of the supply chain,” Bear said.

ANYONE FOR A SPECIAL SESSION?

DeSantis reiterated this week that he would like lawmakers to call a special legislative session before the regular session starts March 4.

DeSantis previously had called for a special session to address condominium issues, as residents complain about soaring costs. But on Tuesday, he also said lawmakers need to take steps to align the state with President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement plans and to address issues related to hurricane recovery and the constitutional amendment initiative process.

“We’ve done a lot (on immigration),” DeSantis said. “We passed a major bill in 2023, but I think that there needs to be some additional legislation to help complement the federal government’s now–newfound appreciation to stop illegal immigration and to hold people accountable. … We need to be prepared to act. I don’t think that you can wait until April or May to do something in that respect.”

As of Thursday morning, representatives of House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, had not commented on DeSantis’ latest call.

SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK

“Even Power has done an incredible job leading Florida Republicans to overwhelming victory as chair of @FloridaGOP. Our state is THE example of good conservative leadership and fiscal sanity — where wokeness has no chance. Looking forward to Evan’s continued success!” — U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., (@ScottforFlorida) as Republican Party of Florida leaders prepare to vote Saturday on the party chairmanship.