TWICE IN FIVE DAYS, COURTS TURN AWAY REPUBLICAN BIDS TO BURY THE HOPE FLORIDA STORY
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, a Highlands County circuit judge denied the Republican Party of Florida’s emergency request to pull the Florida Democratic Party’s Hope Florida ads off the air without a hearing. The ruling follows the First District Court of Appeal’s Oct. 16 refusal to grant Attorney General James Uthmeier and other officials named in the grand jury report a ban on publishing its findings. In a separate order that same day, the appeals court directed those officials to explain what they know about how a redacted version of the report reached the media.
“Twice in five days, Florida Republicans asked a judge to make the truth about Hope Florida disappear, and twice the answer was no,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. “As an attorney, I can tell you that people with a strong case don’t file at 11:36 p.m. on a Friday evening two weeks before an election asking a court to threaten TV stations with criminal prosecution. They do that when they’re scared of what voters are about to hear. Floridians deserve sunlight. Our ads are staying on the air, and we will keep telling voters exactly what happened.”
The appeals court has given the parties until approximately Oct. 25 to explain why court records in both Hope Florida cases should remain sealed. Officials involved in the case must also explain what they know about the leak of the grand jury report by Oct. 26. The Republican Party of Florida’s lawsuit in Highlands County is still pending.
“Twice in five days, Florida Republicans asked a judge to make the truth about Hope Florida disappear, and twice the answer was no,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. “As an attorney, I can tell you that people with a strong case don’t file at 11:36 p.m. on a Friday evening two weeks before an election asking a court to threaten TV stations with criminal prosecution. They do that when they’re scared of what voters are about to hear. Floridians deserve sunlight. Our ads are staying on the air, and we will keep telling voters exactly what happened.”
The appeals court has given the parties until approximately Oct. 25 to explain why court records in both Hope Florida cases should remain sealed. Officials involved in the case must also explain what they know about the leak of the grand jury report by Oct. 26. The Republican Party of Florida’s lawsuit in Highlands County is still pending.