Senator Nelson Continues Misleading Attacks on Blind Trust
Senator Nelson wants to talk about Governor Scott’s blind trust without knowing all the facts…
FACT:
Regardless, Governor Scott has no role in selecting investments in his blind trust. The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.
FACT: Senator Nelson’s attacks are covered in hypocrisy…
- SenatorNelson invested in firms that did business with the Venezuelan regime – his 2018 personal financial disclosure shows investments in Fidelity and Invesco, some of the top institutional holders of Venezuelan debt.
- SenatorNelson invested in a Russian bank sanctioned by the U.S. after the invasion of Ukraine – his 2018 personal financial disclosure shows investments in Baron Emerging Markets Institutional Mutual Funds, which includes holdings for Sberbank of Russia.
- SenatorNelson invested in a Chinese telecom company the U.S. government has moved to block from operating in the country because of national security concerns – his 2018 personal financial disclosure shows investments in Baron Emerging Markets Institutional Mutual Funds, which also includes holdings for China Mobile.
- SenatorNelson took millions from taxpayers – he has collected an estimated $4.4 million in taxpayer-funded salary and given himself 12 pay raises during his time in office.
“Unlike Governor Scott, who has a blind trust which shields him from conflict, hypocritical Senator Nelson is fully aware and has control over the investments he makes. Let’s look at the facts, Senator Nelson took millions from taxpayers, has never created a job, and has no idea what it means to run a business. His hypocritical attacks leave out the fact that he has investments tied to Venezuela, Russia and China, and doesn’t even have a blind trust. Senator Nelson, in typical career politician fashion, is pointing fingers before checking his own record.” – Lauren Schenone, Scott for Florida Press Secretary
BACKGROUND
While Governor Scott grew up poor, he worked hard to succeed and live the American Dream. Now he is fighting to make sure everyone has the same opportunities to succeed that he did.
Governor Scott has also worked tirelessly to protect taxpayer dollars by selling the state plane, which has saved the state $2.4 million each year since 2011, and declining to take a salary throughout his time as governor. When elected to the U.S. Senate, Governor Scott will continue to decline a salary and will instead propose that all members of Congress have their taxpayer-funded salaries halted if they fail to pass a budget and appropriations bills on time.
When Governor Scott was elected, he chose to put his assets into a blind trust, just as previous elected officials Jeb Bush and Alex Sink had done. The Governor’s trust is managed by an independent third party to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. This process has been upheld multiple times by the State Commission on Ethics and the court system.
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