Florida Republicans ask court to ban advertisement about DeSantis' charity scandal

The Republican Party of Florida is asking a judge to stop a Democratic ad about the Hope Florida scandal and is telling TV stations that airing it could be a crime, reported the Florida Trident.The party filed suit late Friday in Highlands County, seeking an emergency order without giving opponents notice. Defendants include the state Democratic Party, three Democratic statewide candidates, and the owners of 11 stations in the Orlando and Tampa Bay markets. The contested ad, a 30-second spot, says a leaked grand jury report found public money was diverted to a political committee that Attorney General James Uthmeier controlled, and that $10 million was “misappropriated.” Uthmeier is on the November ballot.Extensive reporting has documented how money returned to the state as part of health care overpayment was then diverted into the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Ron DeSantis' wife to reduce lower-income people's reliance on welfare,...