By James Call
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-887621.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Florida Republican Party spokeswoman Katie Betta said Thursday that the party played no part in leaking former Speaker Marco Rubio's credit card statements. Disclosure of Rubio's American Express charges is sparking sharp exchanges between Rubio and his U.S. Senate rival Governor Charlie Crist.
Rubio said either ex-Republican Chairman Jim Greer or others close to Crist gave the credit card records to the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald. The Crist campaign did issue a release calling attention to what it said were Rubio's personal charges on the GOP issued card. However, the governor said he has no knowledge of how the newspapers got the statements.
"You know, all of this stuff is in the public arena. It's all subject to analysis by the voter. You know, we've got a long way to go before people vote in this primary."
Rubio paid almost $14-thousand for personal expenses on the card during his years as speaker. He said 89-percent of the charges on the card issued to him were related to official work for the party.