The office of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has sent out a statement regarding the video which captured him at City Hall last Saturday, September 9th in a heated exchange with Miami Herald reporter Sarah Blaskey.
“Mayor Francis Suarez has repeatedly answered questions from the local newspaper about the Formula One (F1) event. Last Saturday, after having answered several questions on the subject, without prior notice and unnecessarily, the reporter placed her cell phone inches from the mayor’s personal space, who was surprised and, as any human being would react, moved the device away from his face,” reads the statement.
“Unfortunately, this journalistic entity seeks to divert attention instead of informing the public of what really matters, such as the fact that the complaint to the ethics commission on the F1 issue was dismissed yesterday,” Suarez’s office statement also said.
In the video provided by the Miami Herald, Blaskey is heard asking him for comment on the allegations.
“Let’s make an appointment and we’d be happy to talk to you” the mayor responds in the video.
After being pressed again by Blaskey to define a day for the appointment, the mayor said “I’m not going to make an appointment now, you can talk to my assistant.”
As Blaskey raised the camera to show the mayor’s face, the mayor asked her not to record him and “put down the phone” before reaching with his hand and covering the lens.
According to the Miami Herald, that’s when Suarez’s bodyguard stepped in front of the mayor, seemingly acknowledging the reporters’ right to record.
“No, no, no. Don’t do that. Don’t do that.” said the bodyguard.
“You just grabbed my phone,” said Blaskey.
“Don’t put the phone in anybody’s face,” said the bodyguard.
Suarez had a complaint under review by the Florida Commission on Ethics over his attendance at various expensive sporting events like the Miami Formula One race in May.
NBC6 reached out to the Miami Herald for comment but they responded that they will let “our video and story speak for themselves.”
The complaint filed against the Miami mayor for improperly accepting gifts was dismissed Friday September 15th by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust.
“A complaint filed against City of Miami mayor, Francis Suarez, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed,” read the summary of the decision.
