Descriptive Attorneys Connected to DeSantis Wrote Letters Imposing Potential Prosecutions on Local TV Stations Due to Abortion Advertisement, According to Affidavit
In a sworn statement submitted on Monday, John Wilson, previously serving as the legal advisor for Florida's Department of Health, declared that Sam Elliot, a prominent lawyer for the DeSantis administration, provided him with pre-written missives intended for broadcast stations on October 3. According to Wilson's statement, he was instructed by Ryan Newman and Jed Doty, both legal advisors for the DeSantis administration, to dispatch the correspondence under his personal name.
“I did not partake in creating the letters or contribute to discussions about them before October 3,” Wilson wrote in his testimony.
Wilson announced his departure from his position the next week, a decision he attributed to "choosing not to adhere to directives from Newman and Doty to send additional correspondence to media outlets," following the public uproar caused by the threats to local stations.
“A man is nothing without his moral compass,” Wilson penned in his resignation letter. “It has become evident in recent times that I am unable to walk alongside you on the path that lies before this Agency.”
Newman also urged Wilson to identify outside counsel who could be retained by the health department to bolster their actions against the local stations, as per the affidavit.
Representatives for DeSantis and the Florida Department of Health did not promptly respond to CNN's request for comment.
Wilson's accusations followed local TV stations airing an advert by Floridians Protecting Freedom, an organization backing the state's “Yes on 4 Campaign,” advocating for a ballot proposal to repeal Florida's six-week abortion ban by enshrining abortion rights in the state's constitution.
The 30-second advert spotlights Caroline, a brain cancer survivor, who shares her story of how the state law would have prevented her from obtaining a life-saving abortion. “The doctors informed me that if I did not terminate my pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life, and my daughter would lose her mother,” Caroline says in the ad. “Florida now prohibits abortions, even in cases like mine.”
Shortly after the advertisement aired, a few stations received cease-and-desist letters from Wilson, imposing the threat of legal action within 24 hours if they refused to comply with the orders.
Floridians Protecting Freedom initiated a lawsuit against Wilson and Joseph Ladapo, the state's surgeon general, accusing the pair of employing "unconstitutional coercion and viewpoint discrimination," and petitioning the court to block them from executing their threats.
Thursday saw a federal judge issuing a temporary restraining order against Ladapo, deeming the department's threats to be "viewpoint discrimination."
Local stations were further bolstered by FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who remarked earlier this month that "threats against broadcast stations for airing content that clashes with the government's views pose a danger and challenge the very foundations of free speech."
Wilson expressed his concerns about sending additional correspondence to media outlets due to moral misgivings, which led to his decision to resign from the DeSantis administration.
In response to the public uproar and the threat of legal action against local stations, FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressed her concerns about threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with government views, posing a danger to free speech.
