about trump's plans, which would move the country away from democracy and into full-blown autocracy. also tonight, expelled from the house of representatives, former congressman george santos begins his revenge tour. and he's already cashing in on his infamy. we begin tonight with notes on a florida scandal. a hot mess sending shock waves through the state's republican party. the florida man in question is not donald trump for once. instead, this is a scandal involving christian ziegler, the chairman of florida's republican party. this is ziegler, a longtime party official who served as vice chairman of the state party prior to his election as chair. he is now under criminal investigation for allegations related to sexual battery, including rape according to a complaint filed with the sarasota police department. ziegler has denied the allegations. a heavily redacted report was released thursday. as you can see, it includes mention of rape, sexual assault complaint, and sexual assault allegation. the report mentions that the alleged incident happened in sarasota, where ziegler is from. now, to give you an idea of his politics, here is ziegler last month at the republican florida freedom summit, an event that featured ziegler onstage with trump and desantis. based on the complaint released by law enforcement, the alleged incident occurred almost one month to the day prior to this summit, which was held in orlando. >> we have a state to protect and a country to save, and our job is not done until there is not one single democrat in office or thinking about running for office in the state of florida. >> ah, a state where democrats wouldn't even think to run for office. the latest example of how florida republicans have gone from opposing democrats to opposing democracy. another thing about chris ziegler. he and his wife, bridget, are among the state's most prominent republicans. "the washington post" described them as a rising power couple in the state, second only to ron and casey desantis in their visibility and influence in state politics. now, this is where things get even messier. bridget was not named in the complaint against her husband, but in the affidavit, a written declaration made under oath, a law enforcement said that the woman who made the allegations against chris ziegler had known him for 20 years. she told the police she had agreed to a sexual encounter on october 2nd with mr. ziegler and his wife, bridget ziegler. ms. ziegler said in an interview with the authorities that she and her husband had been involved in one sexual encounter with the woman over a year ago. when the woman learned that mrs. ziegler would not be present for the october encounter, the woman said she changed her mind and canceled with mr. ziegler. but the woman said mr. ziegler came to her apartment uninvited and sexually assaulted her. so before we unpack all of that, a little more on bridget ziegler. she has worked closely with ron desantis on a slew of draconian policies, namely anti-lgbtq legislation. here she is in 2022 standing behind governor desantis when he signed the don't say gay bill into law, at a ceremony where once again children were used as props and a clear message was sent to gay floridians that their lives do not matter. the legislation launched the presidential bid of an uncharismatic candidate who will likely not win. but the story doesn't end there. don't say gay inflamed the culture wars, serving as a pretext to the republicans' war against woke in the state. bridget ziegler always seemed to be in the center of that crusade, from being an elected member of the sarasota county school board to getting appointed by desantis to the board that now oversees walt disney world land development. what is perhaps is the most damning position is that bridget ziegler is a co-founder of moms for liberty, the group notorious for being the largest driver of the nationwide book banning crusade. moms for liberty claims to speak for american parents by arguing that little kids can't read about mlk or ruby bridges, helping to create a climate where teachers are hiding books and anybody can censor ideas that they don't like about race, gender, and sexuality. again, bridget is not named in the complaint, and her husband has denied the allegations. but it is a window into who is leading this party, this trend in republican politics, particularly since the tea party and since accelerated with the maga movement, where a specific type of person is elevated, implementing cruel and undemocratic policies with seemingly no vetting going on. and it should come as no surprise that this is happening in florida. it may seem like these extreme republicans are taking over the country in scorched-earth fashion. but remember, this plan has been in the works for a long time. the tea party rebranded republican conservatism, giving it a new identity that was bankrolled by republican business elites and fueled by fears of a black president. it created the folks we have leading the florida republican party today, like ogt party candidate ron desantis and rick scott, who was giddily obsessed with sunsetting social security and medicare, the retiree health program that his company defrauded, earning a record federal fine before he was elected governor, and then senator. fast forward to 2023, and you cannot find a florida republican who isn't hawking maga culture war themes. so when matt gaetz, another florida republican with a creepy history, is why mike johnson is running things on the hill. these are people who have a plan, not just for florida but for america, and the plan is bleak. joining me now is florida state representative anna eskamani and colby edmonds, reporter for "the new york times." thank you both for being here. colby edmonds, welcome to the show. i do want to start with you. i want to read to you prosecutor andrew warren, who was fired by ron desantis, mr. ziegler's friend and compatriot, and this is what he said. no wonder ziegler was such a cheerleader for my illegal suspension. he figured that state attorneys who aggressively prosecute sexual assault and corruption are a threat to his political career. for a guy who presents to champion family values, what a disgrace to all floridians. tell us more about this case, where it stands right now, where mr. ziegler stands legally in the state. >> right. so mr. ziegler has denied the allegations against him. he said earlier he has known the alleged victim for over 20 years, and in text messages that were included in the affidavit and phone calls that were recorded, he has called the alleged victim a friend, and to her he denied the allegations. but he has seen some pushback from both democrats and republicans calling -- [ inaudible ] >> i think the gremlins have come for your wi-fi. i think we've lost colbi edmonds. we're going to get your audio together, colbi. let me hold off on you for just a moment. we're going to try to fix your audio. representative eskamani, let me go to you on this. glaad, the association that represents lgbtq folks' interests, they've talked about the fact that moms for liberty, this organization is win what they call a war on lgbtq. i think we h v.o. of moms for liberty. they go to school boards in places like broward county, even places where they don't necessarily have a child in the school. they get up during public speaking time. they speak out against books that contain themes of race, themes on lgbt issues, anything with sexuality in it that they object to. this is a group co-founded by mrs. ziegler. your thoughts on the fact that it appears that she may have engaged in, you know, conduct that is perfectly legal, other than the rape allegations, but consensual sexual activity that would put her in the b and q category. >> first of all, joy, thanks for having me on. this is another example of republican projection. sexual freedom for me but not for thee should be the new mantra of the republican party and of moms for liberty. i was in tallahassee this week for committee meetings. the republican party of florida is having a meltdown despite many individuals asking chris ziegler to step down, he hasn't. i do think the hypocrisy is something none of us can ignore. this is an organization, both the political party and moms for liberty, who have demonized lgbtq+ people. christian and bridget have attempted to personify this traditional christian marriage and couple, and yet here they are doing the exact opposite. look, i have no judgment on a person's expression of their sexual activity. of course the rape allegations are serious and damning. but what i find to be most frustrating is the hypocrisy of it. that you attack other people for living their lives as you live yours. >> you know, ron desantis has put himself forward, he and case sy desantis. they seem like this perfect ultra christian couple although i heard at an event he had to be presented with a bible because he didn't actually own one. they have pushed this culture war thing to the max. anything that isn't about -- that isn't, you know, upholding and uplifting white christianity is essentially illegal in the state. it's illegal to make white folks feel uncomfortable. it's illegal to have books that have themes that have lgbtq themes in them or themes about ration. he said that learning african american history has no educational value. he's been an extremist on this. has there been any talk inside of the republican party that maybe they were sold a bill of goods by him and his friends? he has empowered mrs. ziegler, and he's got her in charge of what disney can do. >> well, that's such a great question, joy. it reminds me of a few other examples too, whether it's joel greenberg, former tax collector from seminole county, that's also been charged with not just fraud and other criminal acts but sexual interact with those under the age of 18, essentially rape. you also, of course, have congressman matt gaetz, with one controversy after another. here we are now with christian ziegler. i think so much of what we see come out of the republican party of florida is not authentic. it's manufactured. it's an attempt to appeal to a particular base of voters while demonizing others. i do think as we see governor desantis flail on a national stage, it's a reality check for a lot of republicans where they have subscribed to this extremism because they thought it would benefit them. now they're seeing not just themselves but also people they looked up to as leaders fall from game. and i think it's another example of how everyday people, they don't want the rhetoric. they don't want the hypocrisy. they want solutions. and as florida democrats, we're committed to staying focused to do that. >> yeah, it's been a real commitment to theater, to the bit. there are pictures of christian ziegler, matt gaetz, and ron desantis all palling around. these are his friends. these are the people that sort of represent what he would present to us as a country. let's not leave out tim scott, who's company defrauded medicaid to the tune of the largest fine in history. i do believe we have colbi back. has the republican party writ large -- is there an attempt to sort of push him out of the way because, you know, there are other sort of scandaly folks in the party that they haven't pushed aside. has there been attempts to distance themselves from mr. ziegler? he is the head of the party. >> my reporting didn't go to invest into that specific area. however, governor ron desantis did call for mr. ziegler to resign last week after a debate. so there's definitely been contention among both democrats and republicans. >> and let's talk about mrs. ziegler. she is not named in the complaint, but the complainant in this case -- and this is a rape allegation. it is an allegation at this point. there's been no adjudication of the case. how does the woman in question describe her relationship with mrs. ziegler? >> so her relationship with mrs. ziegler isn't explicitly defined in the affidavit, but mrs. ziegler did talk to authorities once the investigation began, and she did confirm that the three of them had encountered a three-way sexual encounter once over a year ago. but the most information regarding the woman's relationship to the zieglers is they have known each other for about 20 years. >> i'll end with you, representative eskamani because people who -- you know, they can do whatever they want. they're consenting adults. again, the rape allegation is not part of the do what you want obviously. but ron desantis has made people who are lgbtq feel afraid in the state of florida to the point where organizations like equality florida have put a warning on lgbtq folks who visit the state. the naacp has done the same. i just am sort of floored by the fact that the person running the republican party in the state, whose life has been empowered by this governor, could be so hypocritical, and i wonder if any of your colleagues have come to you and said, we know it's all an act. >> i wish there was that kind of spine here in the state legislature. but i think at this point, individuals in the republican caucus are still kissing that ring, if you will, and kind of going along to get along, to see if desantis somehow makes it through this republican presidential bid. i do want to also add that if folks haven't heard the 911 call regarding this allegation, i encourage you to because it's sort of painful to listen to, but also highlights the kind of harm that christian ziegler has caused to this woman. and it's a harm that he is causing to so many floridians with his policies and the policies of this extreme republican party that doesn't have any values, that's just flooded with hypocrisy and really individuals should not be following these leaders because they're not bringing us to the direction of collective prosperity. >> i will note that the person at the head of their party, donald trump, has something like 26 allegations ranging from sexual abuse to rape, and he was found civilly liable for sexual abuse in the state of new york. florida state representative anna eskamani, and colbi edmonds. up next on "the reidout," critics raise fresh concerns about donald trump's authoritarian tendencies and the dangerous ways they would manifest themselves in a potential second presidency. 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