Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was hit by a double setback over the space of two days in relation to his ongoing feud with Disney and the removal from office of a Democratic state prosecutor.
Orlando State Attorney Monique Worrell, who was suspended by DeSantis in August over allegations of dereliction of duties and "incompetence," filed a suit on Wednesday in the Florida Supreme Court as part of an attempt to overturn her suspension.
The following day, a judge also informed DeSantis that he would have to file a new motion in his attempt to have a lawsuit filed against him by Disney in relation to the governor stripping the company of its self-governing status. Disney claims that the move was retaliation for speaking out against the state legislation dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, which bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades at Florida schools.
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' office via email for comment.
In her complaint against DeSantis, Worrell said that the Florida governor's reasoning for suspending her was vague and failed to allege facts that "even if true, would not relate to any neglect of duty or incompetence."
"The order does not allege a single instance in which Ms. Worrell's exercise of prosecutorial discretion violated Florida law," the petition to have her suspension overturned states. "To the extent the Governor disagrees with how Ms. Worrell is lawfully exercising her prosecutorial discretion, such a disagreement does not constitute a basis for suspension from elected office."
DeSantis announced he was suspending Worrell over claims she avoided minimum sentencing guidelines for offenders and did not impose serious charges against juveniles accused of violent crimes.
In his executive order announcing Worrell's suspension, DeSantis accused her of having "authorized or allowed practices or policies that have systematically permitted violent offenders, drug traffickers, serious-juvenile offenders, and pedophiles to evade incarceration" when otherwise warranted under Florida law.
Worrell previously suggested that her suspension—the second time that the Republican governor has removed a Democratic state attorney—is politically motivated and an attempt by DeSantis to appear more authoritarian in a bid to boost his "failing" 2024 presidential campaign.
"We've seen it with what he's doing with Disney. And we're seeing it where he goes and chooses to suspend or remove a duly elected official," she told CNN. "This is the worst attack on democracy that this country has seen, and something's got to be done to stop it."
The day after Worrell filed her suit, a Florida judge dismissed DeSantis' attempts to have a lawsuit filed against him from Disney thrown out as the company narrowed down the scope of its allegations.
Disney has now amended its suit to remove claims such as breach of contract to purely focus on allegations that DeSantis violated their First Amendment rights when he targeted the company after they spoke out against "Don't Say Gay."
DeSantis stripped the entertainment giant of its social privileges and tax breaks that were protected under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which essentially allowed Disney to self-govern for decades. Disney says it was political retaliation for the company speaking out against the controversial bill.
On Thursday, Judge Allen Winsor told DeSantis and others named in the suit that they will now need to file a new motion to have the case dismissed following Disney's amendment to its lawsuit.
"The motions to dismiss the first amended complaint are denied as moot," Winsor wrote, per Deadline.
Speaking to CNBC on August 14, DeSantis insisted he had "basically moved on" from the Disney feud while urging the CEO Bob Iger to drop the suit.
"All we want to do is treat everybody the same and let's move forward. I'm totally fine with that. But I'm not fine with giving extraordinary privileges, you know, to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else," DeSantis said.
"I would just say, go back to what you did well. I think it's going to be the right business decision and all that."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
