Fla. Republican Party weighs suing Crist, ousted leaders Greer, Johnson

LAKE BUENA VISTA -- In a move denounced as ``the same old political game,'' the Republican Party of Florida accused Gov. Charlie Crist and two former party bosses of misspending hundreds of thousands of dollars but declined to offer proof Saturday by releasing a long-awaited audit of the party's finances.

The party's executive board decided to ``request additional information regarding inappropriate expenses'' as it considers suing Crist, former party chairman Jim Greer and former executive director Delmar Johnson. Greer already faces fraud and money laundering charges related to party spending. A decision to sue may take up to 10 days.

After emerging from Saturday's three-hour, closed-door meeting at Disney's Boardwalk hotel, the current chairman, John Thrasher, cited party-paid trips that Crist, Greer and Johnson took to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Greer raised no money for the party on those trips, but has said he was meeting with donors.

Thrasher also pointed to more than $300,000 in consulting fees paid to a longtime Crist ally from Tampa Bay, Jay Burmer. Thrasher said he didn't see the ``value'' of the deal orchestrated by Crist.

``When you go out and spend money on behalf of this organization it ought to have a distinct purpose, it ought to be directly related to business of this organization,'' Thrasher, a state senator from St. Augustine, told reporters in the hotel hallway. ``And the days of those kind of cavalier, extravagant expenses being charged to the party by those individuals are over.''

OPEN TO ATTACK

Greer's attorney, Damon Chase, noted that Thrasher and other party leaders had previously approved of party spending under Greer as part of the severance deal to get him out of office.

``I'd like to ask John Thrasher, `Were you lying then, or are you lying now?' '' Chase demanded.

By refusing to open the books and by raising red flags so close to the Nov. 2 election, the party left its motives open to attack.

Widely viewed as a turncoat among Republican activists, Crist is running for the U.S. Senate as an independent against the party's most celebrated candidate in 2010, former House Speaker Marco Rubio. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami is the Democratic nominee for the open seat.

``They're destroying the party with their personal vendettas and blatant political grandstanding in an attempt to discredit Crist immediately before the November election,'' Chase said.

Delaying the audit's release also means Florida Republicans failed to closed the door on one of the most contentious periods in its history. A new lawsuit could reopen questions about spending with party-issued American Express cards by Rubio and other party leaders. The Miami Herald and The St. Petersburg Times found that Rubio charged thousands of dollars in personal expenses to his party credit card.

``It's probably best that the party bosses stop playing the same old political games and take a hard look at their own nominee before attacking the one truly independent candidate for U.S. Senate,'' said Crist's campaign spokesman, Danny Kanner.

COVERED EXPENSES

Rubio has said he covered all personal expenses charged to the credit card, which included more than $10,000 in hotel rooms for a family reunion, a $133.75 at Churchill's barber in Miami, $181.56 at the Museum of Natural History in New York and a $10.50 movie ticket.

Thrasher said the audit revealed no wrongdoing by Rubio, Senate President Jeff Atwater and other current party leaders. He noted that Rubio already reimbursed the party for more than $2,400 for plane trips he also charged to state taxpayers.

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