Scott’s scandal makes the front pages

A quick update on the damaging revelations uncovered about Rick Scott in just the last few days, with a particular emphasis on his shadowy personal and campaign finances:

• GateHouse reveals that “Gov. Rick Scott profits from Hep C drug tied to state prisons, opioid crisis.” From the report:

“Scott does have an interest in the issue: He’s a million-dollar investor in Gilead Sciences, the controversial manufacturer of Hep C treatment drugs that have cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars for treating patients.

“Scott, now a candidate for U.S. Senate, faces a July 29 deadline to file a more detailed federal disclosure, which also will force him for the first time to reveal his wife’s assets along with his own wide-ranging holdings.”

The $1.1 million worth of stock Scott reported owning in Gilead five years ago shows just how the governor’s private investments can become entangled with public policy issues facing the state he leads.

A federal judge last year ruled that the Scott administration had failed to properly care for as many as 20,000 state inmates with Hepatitis C — a move that forced the Legislature this year to spend $21.7 million on treatment with Gilead drugs. “Gov. Scott is making money off a Gilead medication that is a lifesaving one. Scott is beyond cruel to deny that therapy to Florida inmates,” said Jeremy Leaming, spokesman for the National Health Law Program.”

The story made front page news:

• Less than 24 hours after Scott’s FEC report was made public it’s already complicating his campaign. On Friday the Tampa Bay Times reported that “Scott’s political spending began months before he was an official candidate” — as early as January 2018. The revelations raise a fresh round of questions about Scott’s dishonesty and how he’s been using his position as governor to advance his political interests.

• Scott was also caught in two more big lies: Politico highlighted how Scott mislead reporters about his fundraising numbers; and the Miami Herald revealed Scott leveled “false attacks” against a doctor who called out his health care record.

These stories add to the over 215 bad stories Scott has suffered in the first 100 days of his campaign — no wonder Scott couldn’t win by more than 1 point in historic GOP wave elections and spent more money to get fewer votes than any other Republican.