DeSantis Press Secretary Filed U.S. Justice Documents June 6 On Foreign Connections Going Back To 2018

Florida Phoenix

June 8, 2022

Gov. Ron DeSantis defended press secretary Christina Pushaw on Wednesday, following Pushaw’s U.S. Justice Department filing on June 6, 2022, four years after she began “unwritten and informal” work with a major political figure in the country of Georgia.

DeSantis called the situation a “totally ridiculous smear piece,” during press conferences in Fort Myers Beach and West Palm Beach, with a more in-depth discussion in the latter press conference.

“I am not deterred by any smear piece from these legacy media outlets. The only reason they’re attacking her is because she does a great job and she’s very effective of calling out their lies and their phony narratives,” DeSantis said Wednesday.

Pushaw has an active online presence on Twitter, and often uses the platform to criticize media reporting on the DeSantis administration and other state coverage, among other topics.

DeSantis continued Wednesday:

“And so, whenever they’re smearing somebody, you know that person is over the target. And so, they’re scared of that. I would be much more concerned with my press secretary if the Washington Post was writing puff pieces about her, then I would think something was wrong.

“So, the thing people need to understand about these legacy — (Washington,) D.C., New York — outlets is we don’t care what you think anymore. We know you peddle narratives. We know you lie. We know you don’t care about the facts. So you can try to smear me and anyone in my administration all you want to. All that’s going to do is embolden us to continue moving forward for the people of Florida.”

The Washington Post reported earlier that Pushaw “belatedly” registered information with the U.S. Department of Justice about her involvement with the former-President of Georgia, Mikeil Saakashvili, from 2018 to 2020.

The Florida Phoenix reviewed the documents from the Foreign Agent Registration Act, or FARA, at the U.S. Department of Justice’s website.

The documents show that “Saakashvili is currently incarcerated as a political prisoner in Georgia.”

According to the FARA files, Pushaw stated:

“My work for Mikheil Saakashvili was strictly related to increasing his international profile in an effort for him to re-enter Georgian politics at some future date,” according to the FARA file.

The filings indicate that Pushaw’s involvement with Saakashvili was “unwritten and informal.”

However, Pushaw received $25,000 during this time for “compensation/living expenses” — $10,000 on Oct. 28, 2018, $10,000 on Aug. 30, 2020, and $5,000 on Oct. 31, 2020, the file reports. During this time, she stayed “rent-free in an apartment in Tbilisi owned by an associate of Saakashvili.”

She described her duties with the former-Georgia president as follows:

“During this relevant period of time, I assisted Mikheil Saakashvili with outreach to Georgian, E.U, and other international media, experts, and policymakers, including U.S. persons and entities.

“My work for Saakashvili included perception management, public relations, and preparation and dissemination of informational materials to an international audience, including U.S. persons and entities.

“In consultation with Saakashvili, I drafted a number of memos to update the above mentioned persons and entities on the Georgian political situation before, during, and immediately after the 2018 and 2020 elections, when I was working in Georgia on behalf of Saakashvili.

In consultation with Saakashvili, I drafted op/eds and placed them in various English-language publications, including U.S. publications.”

In her filings, there are op-ed materials, including a Fox News opinion piece from 2018 titled: “Ex-Georgian President: Mr. Trump, Putin does not bluff but you have the upper hand — use it.”

Another article was for a Washington Post opinion piece from 2019 called: “The oligarchs are suffocating what’s left of democracy in Eastern Europe.”

In addition, Pushaw stated: “My activities on behalf of Saakashvili occurred between 1/2018 – 11/2020. By 12/2020, all of my activities and efforts on behalf of Saakashvili terminated and have not continued to the date of this filing.”

The filings also include a summary about Saakashvili that states: “Saakashvili served as President of Georgia from 2004-2013. He left Georgia in 2013 and became a citizen of Ukraine shortly thereafter. Saakashvili is no longer a Georgian citizen but has remained an influential figure in Georgian politics. He is associated with the largest Georgian opposition political party, United National Movement (UNM). UNM was the leading party in the United Opposition, a coalition that challenged the ruling party in the presidential election of 2018 and the parliamentary election of 2020.

The New York Times reported on his arrest in October 2021, noting that: “Mr. Saakashvili led the first wave of anti-authoritarian street uprisings in the former Soviet Union, called color revolutions, and he governed Georgia as president from 2004 until 2013, a period that included a brief war with Russia. In the politics of the former Soviet states, he was aligned with movements resisting Russian influence.”

The Times reported that Saakashvili was in exile of Georgia for eight years before secretly returning last year and subsequently being arrested for doing so.

Pushaw has openly discussed her time in Georgia on Twitter, and in March referenced what she called “her former boss, who was the president of Georgia.”

There are many instances on her Twitter page where she speaks candidly about living in Georgia and discussing the country’s politics.

On June 4, she tweeted: “I do not miss Georgian politics and will never get involved in anything related to that ever again. But I sometimes do miss Georgia and hope to go back for a visit one day.”

The Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news site that’s free of advertising and free to readers, covers state government and politics through a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.