Trump judge pick on hold over potential criminal links to DeSantis

The White House has “indefinitely” paused the judicial nomination of a Florida official over his involvement with a charity linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis that has fallen under criminal investigation.

Sources told Axios that the state's deputy attorney general, John Guard, has been put on hold. The White House doesn't want to kick up a political firestorm over his nomination for an open judicial seat in the Middle District of Florida now that he's been subpoenaed in the investigation, the outlet reported.

"The White House doesn't have any reason to really believe that John broke the law, but it doesn't want a nasty confirmation fight about this until it all gets cleared up," said a source with direct knowledge of the confirmation.

Prosecutors are investigating $10 million in secret settlement money from a Medicaid provider that was then allegedly diverted to Hope Florida, a charity backed by the governor and started by his wife Casey DeSantis, to fund a campaign against a ballot measure on recreational marijuana.

Guard signed the settlement, but he reportedly raised concerns about it and removed references to his office in drafts of the agreement that was circulated amongst the negotiating parties.

A grand jury convened last week in Tallahassee to determine whether Hope Florida funneled into the political battle over legalizing recreational marijuana, which DeSantis opposes, and the investigation has exposed a rift between Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and DeSantis, his predecessor.

"At the White House's direction, the sources say, Scott has refused to submit what's called a 'blue slip' for Guard's nomination, which would have triggered a confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee," Axios reported.

Scott raised questions about Guard's involvement in the Hope Florida matter back in May, which angered Sen. Ashely Moody (R-FL), who remains a supporter of the deputy attorney general because he had worked for her when she was the state attorney general last year, before she was tapped to replace now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate.

"Moody initially retaliated by not returning a blue slip for Jack Heekin, Scott's former general counsel, who was nominated to become U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida, the sources said," according to Axios. "Moody relented after the White House informed her office that it wanted Heekin to go forward while it pumped the brakes on Guard. Heekin was confirmed and sworn in in June."