FL Guv Accused of Forcing Out Official

A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Cabinet members violated the state's open meetings law and secretly facilitated the removal of a top law enforcement official from office. The Associated Press, the Florida Society of News Editors and St. Petersburg attorney Matthew Weidner filed the lawsuit in state court in Tallahassee, accusing Scott and Cabinet members Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam of forcing Gerald Baley to resign as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in December. The suit is asking a state judge to declare that all Cabinet members are subject to the Sunshine Law and aims to prevent Scott and the Cabinet from meeting in private in the future. Scott and the Cabinet are slated to meet Thursday morning at the state fairgrounds in Tampa to discuss procedures for firing officials who report to them.