Governor Rick Scott continues to deny he forced the former Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement commissioner to quit, and he now says he will not stand in the way of an independent investigation.
 
"If there’s an investigation, I’ll work with them,” Scott said while at an event in Winter Park Friday.

Former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey left the job last month.

Bailey accused the Scott administration of a number of improprieties in the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald in the last week. Bailey said he was asked by Scott administration officials to falsely name the clerks in Orange County's clerk of courts office as a target in a criminal investigation into how two convicts obtained false documents in order to escape prison. Other allegations asked for FDLE help with Scott's re-election campaign.

“He agreed to step down, then a new commissioner was approved by all the cabinet," Scott said. "Then after that, he decided to make attacks. It’s unfair to the individuals that work at FDLE, they do a great job. Also it’s unfair to the new commissioner, Rick Swearingen, who also does a great job."

Scott's office, as it battles these allegations, put out a two-page Frequently Asked Questions sheet, denying almost everything.

"The governor has a problem on his hands," said Republican political analyst Chris Ingram.

Ingram said the scandal puts a shadow not only on Scott, but on the Florida Cabinet. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam and CFO Jeff Atwater all have a say in who leads the FDLE.

Putnam and Atwater are calling for a closer look at Bailey's ouster. But Ingram said it appears all three were also asleep at the wheel.

"That's why we're seeing some of the cabinet members squirm a little bit and try to explain now," said Ingram. "But I think ultimately they're gonna come on the side of we need to look into this further and seeing if there was any wrongdoing."

Whether a state investigation happens is not yet known. The prosecutor known for dealing with these kinds of cases, Willie Meggs, said Thursday he saw no reason to deal with the allegations, calling it a disagreement between Scott and Bailey. He also questioned why Bailey didn't do anything about the prison escape claims when the incident happened.

The issue is likely to come up at the Florida Cabinet's next meeting next month.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.