Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday slammed Sen. Bill Nelson for his comments that Russians have infiltrated several counties in Florida's election system, saying the Democratic senator, is "either confused or dishonest."
"My opponent is either confused (or) dishonest, releasing classified information," Scott, a term-limited governor who is challenging Nelson for the Senate seat he's held since 2000, told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"We've worked hard to make sure people feel comfortable with our election system."
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI have rejected Nelson's claims, reports The Miami Herald on Tuesday.
The agencies, in a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Dentzer, said they hadn't seen any new or ongoing compromises to state or local election systems, but they have demonstrated the "intent and capability to conduct malicious cyber operations."
Scott on Wednesday said Nelson has "caused chaos, confusion. It's reckless what he said. We're right in the middle of our primary. He shouldn't be saying these things. If he has something, put it out publicly."
Meanwhile, Nelson's spokesman Ryan Brown said in a statement there was nothing in the federal agencies' letter to prove the senator was wrong.
“The governor of Florida has a security clearance and could have quickly and directly received information, answers and posed any questions instead of engaging in these confusing and partisan histrionics of the past week," Brown said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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