The grand jury investigating the role of senior DeSantis administration officials in the “misappropriation” of millions of taxpayer dollars encountered well-connected witnesses with bar licenses, conflicting testimonies and memory problems, a copy of the sealed grand jury report obtained by CBS News Miami reveals.

That collective amnesia made it impossible to prosecute the case, according to the report, which says the grand jury could “plainly see that taxpayer money was misused for political purposes” when $10 million was diverted from a Medicaid settlement to political organizations in the fall of 2024, with a state charity acting as the middleman.

The investigation delved into the DeSantis administration’s $67 million settlement with Medicaid contractor Centene, which was altered in the weeks before the 2024 election to include the Hope Florida Foundation. The Foundation, created to support an effort spearheaded by first lady Casey DeSantis, quickly redirected its $10 million cut to two organizations — Save our Society from Drugs and Secure Florida’s Future.

Those groups then gave most of the funds to a political committee run by now-Attorney General James Uthmeier aimed at defeating a 2024 ballot amendment that would have legalized marijuana in Florida. At the time, Uthmeier was chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis.