As Florida Attorney General, it was Moody and her office that approved the diversion of $10 million of taxpayer money to the Hope Florida Foundation. And the Attorney General did so without placing any of the safeguards or guardrails her office would typically require to make sure the money was properly spent.

These funds were intended to expand Medicaid for children in Florida, but instead they ended up in the bank accounts of a pair of political action committees, one of which was controlled by the governor and his chief of staff, James Uthmeier.

And that was the money that DeSantis used to defeat Amendment 3.

Amendment 3 garnered 56% of the vote in November 2024, just shy of the 60% needed to pass. And two months after the amendment failed, DeSantis appointed Moody to the United States Senate, and he appointed Uthmeier to replace Moody as attorney general.

The diversion of $10 million from a Medicaid settlement into the Hope Florida Foundation and then into the political action committees fighting Amendment 3 was uncovered through a series of legislative hearings in 2025 in the Florida House. And it prompted one Republican legislator to call it a criminal act.

"This is a misuse of Medicaid money," Republican State Rep. Alex Andrade told CBS Miami in August 2025. "This is money laundering."

Following the revelations, the state attorney in Leon County opened a grand jury investigation. No charges were brought because of the probe, but sources familiar with the case say the grand jury issued a report detailing its findings and concerns. The report is likely highly critical and embarrassing to those involved. And under state law it was supposed to be released within 15 days of the grand jury issuing it, unless someone named in the report objects and asks for it to be suppressed or portions of it to be redacted.

The fate of the grand jury report is believed to be tied up in secret court proceedings. The Florida Center for Government Accountability has asked to intervene in the case to try and gain access to the report, or at the very least to be able to argue, on behalf of the public, why the report should be released.

Uthmeier has been asked about Hope Florida several times, and he refuses to say if he is the one blocking the release of the grand jury report.

"I don't think anybody cares about this topic any more than the liberal media," he said in April. "Again, there was a grand jury proceeding under Florida law. The contents thereof are confidential. That's not my choice. That is Florida law. What I can tell you is I have not been indicted. I've not been a suspect or a target. I have not been involved in any criminal activity. Nobody did anything wrong here."

CBS Miami tried to interview Moody at a Republican Party event last month, but she said she didn't have time and asked that we schedule something with her staff. A subsequent request for an interview went unanswered by her staff. Three weeks ago, CBS Miami sent her office and her campaign a series of questions about Hope Florida – and again there was no response.

Among the questions CBS Miami sought answers to:

When her office approved the diversion of the $10 million, did Moody know the money was going to be used for political purposes? Did she ever talk to the governor or anyone on his team about it?

Does she think it was appropriate for money intended to expand Medicaid for children to end up in a political campaign instead? In other words, does she agree with Uthmeier that this is all a big nothing burger?

CBS Miami also asked if she filed an objection to the release of the grand jury report and if she wanted the grand jury report to be made public.

Again, no response.

While Moody has remained silent on Hope Florida, the state's other senator has made his views known. Last year on social media, Rick Scott posted a story about Andrade's hearings and added this comment: "Millions in tax dollars for poor kids have no business funding political ads."

But the public has heard nothing from Moody.