The leadership of Florida’s Republican Party voted Sunday to censure Chairman Christian Ziegler and remove his authority as he faces an investigation into sexual assault.
In an emergency closed-door meeting in Orlando, the group also reduced Ziegler’s salary to $1 annually. Ziegler will no longer be able to hire or fire staff; speak on behalf of the Florida GOP; or raise funds for the party, though he retains his title as chairman.
The leadership, which voted 39-0, decided not to conduct a special investigation into Ziegler.
Ziegler, who has faced calls to resign from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Matt Gaetz, did not address the media after the meeting. CNN has reached out to Ziegler for comment.
The chairman has been under investigation by the Sarasota Police Department since October. According to a search warrant affidavit obtained by CNN, Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, planned a three-way sexual encounter with the alleged victim on the day of the alleged assault on October 2, and “when the victim learned that Bridget could not make it, she changed her mind and canceled with Christian.” The Zieglers allegedly had a previous consensual sexual relationship with the accuser, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance video showed Ziegler arriving at the alleged victim’s residence on the day of the alleged assault, the affidavit says. The alleged victim said Christian entered the apartment and raped her on a bar stool, according to the affidavit.
Ziegler, who has not been charged with a crime, said the sex was consensual. In a statement to CNN, his attorney, Derek Byrd, said he would be cleared of wrongdoing. “We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded that no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated,” Byrd said.
Ziegler spent the beginning of…
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