Interview: PBC State Attorney Election - w/GOP Candidate Sam Stern

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There are a lot of different things that are coming
into focus and a lot of different races. And we've
been talking a lot about the early voter turnout that
we've been seeing. It's been pretty remarkable clear across the state,
including the early voting trends throughout the Palm Beaches, but
also some of the storylines that could end up making
a difference in moving races as well, and one that

(00:22):
we have been closely watching it's been the Palm Beach
County State Attorneys race. As you do have Dave Ehrenberg,
who is not seeking re election here, however, one of
his lieutenants, you might say, Alexia cox Is, and you
also have Republican challenger Sam Stern, and Sam recently joined

(00:44):
us in One of the of the things that Sam
mentioned is with a threat that was made against the
former and perhaps future President of the United States by
a Jupiter man, Michael Wiseman, that an illegal diversion program
had been offered up two Wiseman, and we now know

(01:06):
that Sam has been proven correct in that. And Sam
joins us once again to talk about this development and
also the state of his raise.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Good morning, Ran, Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
You bet so, You're right about this, walk us through
what happened here, how it is that Ahrenberg's office illegally
pursued the path they did and where we go from here.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Absolutely so. Three days after the first assassination attempts at Pennsylvania,
Michael Wiseman, managed Jupiter, Florida, went online, threatened to kill
Donald Trump, threatened to kill JD. Vans, and threatened to
rape their daughters. PbSO went and did their job. They
rest of them. He was initially held no bond, so
everything was sort of handled appropriately for a while. Two

(01:51):
days after the second attempted assassination on the golf course,
the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office gave mister Wiseman a
pre trial intervention plea agreement allowing him to have no
criminal record in twelve months and the right to own
a firearm. And as I said to the newspapers at
the time this happened, this was an illegal play because
you're not legally eligible for a second degree felony when

(02:13):
you threaten to kill somebody to get this kind of deal. Now,
the state Attorney's office told the Sun Sentinel, among other
media outlets, that there was nothing wrong with the agreement.
That the agreement made sense and was appropriate, and ms
Cox said the same, She agreed with it, and candidly
the pamp she Attorney's office lied to the public. This
was in fact an illegal play. And we now know

(02:33):
one hundred percent certain that it was legal play, because
we found out last week that two days after I
raised the alarm, they in fact went to court and
made a motion to vacate the play because it was illegal,
and they never told anybody, even after telling everybody was
completely appropriate.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
It's pretty remarkable, you know, the way you lay it out,
You have any idea as to the motive of why
they would have chosen this path, only to recognize that
they weren't going to be able to move forward in
the end with it.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Well, look, I think the facts are pretty clear here.
They made an illegal play, they got caught, they lied
to the public, and then they tried to cover it
up and not tell anybody. I mean, those are indisputable facts.
And as I said on camera, and I've said I
keep saying it when I am state attorney, We're going
to do a review about what happened here, and we're

(03:29):
going to make that review public so that people understand
what happened the office itself.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
It's one of those that I think tends not to
be appreciated unless there is a problem. For example, there
are certain state attorneys or das based upon the position
across the country that people have become familiar with by
name because they have been particular problems. You haven't necessarily
historically had that same level of attention on Dave Ehrenberg

(03:59):
and this office.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
Should it have been.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
What is your overall opinion of Dave Ehrenberg over the
years that he served as state attorney? What do you
think the state is of that office right now?

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, I got into this race because I was deeply
concerned about this office and that it needed reform. And
the more and more information I learn as I continue forward,
the more clear that is the Michael Wise and play
is one example. I'll give you another one, which is Jarring,
one of the Epstein prosecutors who went into the grand

(04:32):
jury and undermine the underage victims seventeen years ago, still
works in that office. Really digest that it is unfadable
and it's indefensible.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
No question about it. And we'll mention as well that
Alexia Cox, we've offered the opportunity to come on and
address this, and she has opted not to up to
this point. That offerer will remain open for now. Do
you have any idea about how your race is going?
At this point? We know that early voting trends happened strong,
a lot stronger for Republicans generally throughout the Palm Beaches

(05:09):
in the state of Florida than we had seen previously.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah. Look, I mean, I'm loath to make predictions about
secret ballots elections, but what I'll say is, turnout's been great.
We're running if this campaign is a big coalition. Anybody
who believes in the significant importance of honest and effective
public safety should be voting for us. That's why both
of the Democratic primary candidates refuse to endorse or support

(05:35):
miss Cox and endorse me. And I challenge anybody to
say when in politics they've ever seen that happen before.
You know this uncentinel endorsement. It's not just me who
recognizes the serious problems in this office. There are very
serious problems. People are aware of it, people are learning
more and more about it as this campaign goes forward.

(05:56):
And my hope is that a very large segment of
the population just cares about hiring the best lawyer they
can find to honestly keep this community safe, which is
what the job is all about. Sam.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
Appreciate the time, the update, and good job and getting
in right and keep on keeping on. We'll check back
with you.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Much appreciate it. Thanks again,