Christian Ziegler, the embattled chair of the Florida Republican Party who reportedly is under investigation after being accused of rape by the same woman he and his wife had a three-way sexual relationship with, has refused to resign but now is willing to depart if given a multi-million dollar payout, according to Florida Politics.
"Multiple sources confirm Ziegler has asked for a massive payout — one source said $2 million — to go away. Officials within the state party confirmed emissaries for Ziegler approached the party on his behalf," Florida Politics reported Thursday. "Overtures of a buyout came days ahead of a scheduled meeting of the Republican Party of Florida’s executive board. Party officials on Sunday are expected to launch an investigation of Ziegler and ultimately to impose sanctions, which could include Ziegler’s expulsion from the party."
Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, described as Florida's Republican "power couple," reportedly have both confirmed the three-way sexual relationship. The accuser told Christian Ziegler she was into the ménage à trois "mostly" because of his wife.
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"According to a police search warrant affidavit, Ziegler arrived alone at the [accuser's] apartment shortly after the woman backed out of a proposed tryst involving Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota school board member and cofounder of Moms for Liberty. 'Sorry I was in mostly for her,' she messaged Ziegler (search warrant)," reported Trident News, the journalism arm of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Florida Center for Government Accountability.
Trident also reports Sarasota police now have video of the encounter between Christian Ziegler and his accuser.
"Ziegler made a cell phone video of the sex act while she was bent over a piece of furniture in the bedroom, according to sources. The video of the sex act is brief in duration and the victim can be heard telling Ziegler to climax in her mouth rather than on her new shirt, the sources said."
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"Attorney Adriana Alcalde, a former Florida sex crimes prosecutor who now represents victims in those cases, said the video evidence, if accurately described by the Florida Trident’s sources, could amount to an insurmountable obstacle to a successful verdict in the case."
Bridget Ziegler's ties to Florida GOP governor Ron DeSantis have also become national news. She stood right behind the flailing presidential candidate when he signed his "Don't Say Gay" legislation into law, an act some have called hypocritical given the consensual three-way sex and that she has said she helped write the law.
She is also facing efforts to remove her from her county school board position. She lost a non-binding 4-1 vote on Tuesday, in which she was the only one voting for her to stay.
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