TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Republican Party of Florida has filed a lawsuit attempting to force a Florida Democratic Party TV ad about the Hope Florida scandal off the air. The lawsuit, filed late Friday night in rural Highlands County, asks a judge to pull the ad immediately, before Democrats can even respond, and then permanently. It names the Florida Democratic Party, three statewide Democratic candidates, and 11 TV stations. RPOF’s lawyers also warned station managers that running the ad is a crime and said they were referring the matter to state law enforcement and prosecutors. Party attorneys say RPOF has no standing to bring the case.
The lawsuit is the newest move in a months-long effort by Florida Republicans to make the story disappear:
- According to recent reporting from the Florida Trident, the governor’s office has spent more than $327,000 in public money on three law firms in connection with the Hope Florida investigation.
- An attorney from one of those firms is now listed as counsel for Attorney General James Uthmeier himself.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a partner at another of those firms to a $158,094-a-year seat on the Florida Gaming Control Commission while the firm was under contract to his office on Hope Florida.
- When a fight over keeping court proceedings secret reached the appeals court, Uthmeier’s own office told the court it didn’t object.
“Every time Floridians get closer to the truth about Hope Florida, Republicans find another way to bury it,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. “Taxpayer-funded lawyers. Sealed proceedings. And now a lawsuit from the Republican Party of Florida, the same party that benefited from the $10 million scandal. They’re trying to get a judge to yank our ad without giving us an opportunity to respond, and they’re threatening TV stations with criminal charges just for airing it, all to keep Floridians from hearing the facts.
“Republicans have spent more time and more of your money hiding this than explaining it. Running to court every time they face an uncomfortable question isn’t leadership. It’s a cover-up with a filing fee. We won’t be intimidated, and we’ll keep talking about Hope Florida, James Uthmeier, and the questions Republicans refuse to answer.”
Uthmeier is on the ballot November 3. The Florida Democratic Party will continue holding him, and the Republican establishment working to protect him, accountable through Election Day.
