The Republican Party of Florida's executive board has formally censured state Chair Christian Ziegler. A document made public by members slams Ziegler for injuring the "good name of the Republican Party."
The executive board also voted to reduce Ziegler's salary to $1, far less than the $120,000 salary promised to state chairs, and the executive board discussed taking immediate action to remove him. All motions passed 39-0.
All this comes as a sex scandal threatens Ziegler's ability to raise money and represent the state party heading into a presidential election year.
Ziegler remains under active criminal investigation for rape. A woman accused Ziegler in October of raping her in a Sarasota apartment. Ziegler admits to a sexual encounter but said it was consensual. Ziegler and his wife, Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler, admitted to police that they had a prior three-way sexual encounter with the woman.
While video of the encounter taken by Ziegler on his phone and obtained by police reportedly contradicts portions of the accuser's account, digital messages between Christian Ziegler and the woman show she told Ziegler not to come to her place the day of the sex after learning Bridget Ziegler would not be present.
Vice Chair Evan Power sought a special meeting of the party's 40-member executive board to discuss how to deal with Ziegler. That meeting was scheduled after 33 members signed onto the call, though legal counsel at the Sunday meeting suggested Power lacked the authority to call such a meeting as long as Ziegler remained in power.
Those who want to take action argue Ziegler has a financial conflict of interest. But Ziegler ultimately showed up to the event to stand in front of members and address the scandal in an official gathering for the first time.
Ziegler told members he remains constrained to speak to specifics of the case, thanks to the ongoing criminal investigation. He suggested once that concludes, members will learn elements of the accusation are untrue.
He also told members many in the room had been convicted of drug use, or had otherwise admittedly broken the law or committed acts they would not like publicly aired.
But he was greeted with a generally hostile board membership, with no one standing up in his defense. National Committeeman Peter Feaman encouraged members to let Ziegler speak, but others voiced extreme anger at the state chair, with one source comparing criticisms to piranhas attacking people who step in a river.
To date, Ziegler has rebuffed calls for his resignation from every statewide elected official in the state.
While some allies of Ziegler maintain the party should hold back from sanctions until a criminal investigation concludes, even many of those say Ziegler must resign for the sake opf the party.
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