The Republican Party of Florida has dropped its lawsuit seeking to ban Democratic television advertisements about the Hope Florida scandal. The party filed a notice of voluntary dismissal at 3:39 p.m. on Wednesday, one day after a circuit judge declined to remove the ads from the air without first holding a hearing. The party said it wanted to give prosecutors latitude to carry out criminal investigations.
The dismissal capped a week in which the ads withstood two separate efforts to stop them: one by the party and an earlier one by Attorney General James Uthmeier himself, according to court records obtained by the Florida Trident.
On Oct. 16, hours before the Democratic ad was due to begin airing, Uthmeier asked the First District Court of Appeal to enjoin "persons or entities" from publishing or broadcasting it. The emergency motion, filed by attorney Christopher Kise in the sealed appeal in which the court had ordered a Leon County grand jury presentment expunged on Oct. 7, argued that the ad repeats the "content, gist, or import" of grand jury testimony in violation of Florida statutes. The ad says a leaked grand jury report found taxpayer money was moved into a dark-money political committee that Uthmeier controlled and that "$10 million was misappropriated." The appeals court denied the motion the same day in a one-sentence order that offered no explanation. Kise did not return a call seeking comment.
Hours later, the state party went to a trial court. Its suit was filed at 11:36 p.m. Friday in Highlands County, where none of the defendants is based. It named the Florida Democratic Party, gubernatorial candidate David Jolly, attorney general candidate José Javier Rodríguez, chief financial officer candidate Annette Taddeo and the owners of 11 Orlando and Tampa Bay television stations. The party sought an immediate order without notice to the defendants, to be followed by temporary and permanent injunctions. It argued that broadcasting the presentment's content is a first-degree misdemeanor under section 905.27. The complaint did not mention that the appeals court had denied the same relief earlier that day.
On Tuesday morning, the originally assigned judge, Heather Beato, recused herself. Her replacement, Circuit Judge Peter F. Estrada, denied the request for an order without notice just after noon and directed the party to serve the defendants and coordinate a hearing. The party dismissed the case the next day instead. Under Florida's civil rules, such a dismissal is without prejudice unless stated otherwise, so the party may refile.
Neither Uthmeier's motion nor the party's complaint disputed that the leaked presentment says what the ad claims. Both argued instead that repeating it is a crime under grand jury secrecy laws. The First District's Oct. 7 opinion expressly declined to reach that question, noting only that press disclosure of the presentment "may itself" have violated the statute. The appeals court has since ordered the parties in both Hope Florida cases to show cause by Oct. 25 why briefs and records quoting the report should not be unsealed.
The dismissal does not withdraw an Oct. 16 letter from party lawyer Benjamin Gibson to station managers, which said airing the ad "is criminal conduct in Florida" and that the matter was being referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and prosecutors. Copies went to FDLE Commissioner Larry Keefe, Statewide Prosecutor Brad McVay and state attorneys in 11 of the state's 20 judicial circuits. Prosecutors in the Tampa Bay area and the Tenth Circuit sent their own letters warning of "potential criminal consequences." Whether those referrals remain open is unclear.
State Attorney Ed Brodsky of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit said he forwarded the letter to WWSB, a Sarasota television station, and to its news director, Jeff Schlesser, so he would be aware of the concerns raised. Party chair Evan Power did not respond to a request for comment.
The ad remains on the air, and new versions have surfaced. Early voting is underway in much of Florida, and the general election is Nov. 3.
