When he abruptly resigned from his post last week, the top attorney for the Florida Department of Health suggested in a resignation letter that he was uncomfortable with decisions taken by the state agency, which days earlier had threatened to prosecute television stations over political advertisements. “A man is nothing without his conscience,” John Wilson wrote. “It has become clear in recent days that I cannot join you on the road that lies before the agency.”
On the day that Wilson resigned, Wilson signed off on two contracts with law firms that are tasked with providing legal representation to the state agency in relation to “false political advertisements,” court filings show. The firms were hired to advise and recommend a legal course of action on the matter, among other things, court records show. The contracts will cost taxpayers up to $1.4 million, records show.
