Florida’s Ex-GOP chair says party tried to suppress black voters

Former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer said some party leaders met to discuss ways they could suppress black votes, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

"They talked about not letting blacks vote … and minority outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party," Greer told the Associated Press.

The statements were part of a 630-page deposition given in his lawsuit against the party, according to the Miami Herald. In the suit, Greer alleges the party's Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Sen. John Thrasher owe him $130,000.

Greer faces criminal fraud charges over his creation of Victory Strategies LLC, a company that collected almost $200,000 from Florida's Republican party while he was running it, the Miami Herald reported.

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Greer also said the party was in financial crisis and a bunch of "whack-a-dos."

"The wing of the party that does not agree with Charlie Crist considered me a moderate chairman," Greer said. "[We] commonly referred to them, the whack-a-dos, the crazies, the right wingers."

The allegations come as the Justice Department is investigating whether the administration of Florida Gov. Rick Scott is targeting minorities in its attempt to purge voter rolls in the state.