New information is coming out about "unusual muzzling" of Florida professors.
"The University of Florida is embroiled in controversy this week following revelations that, in at least four cases, it denied professors' requests to testify in lawsuits that challenged policy set by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
Florida has been harshly criticized for the silencing of the professors.
"University leaders said offering testimony as part of a legal challenge to the state poses a conflict for the flagship institution because it is an extension of the state government," the publication reported. "But one public-college professor in Florida had no trouble getting a green light to testify on behalf of parties defending Florida's controversial voting law. Court records show that the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) hired a Florida International University professor, Dario Moreno, as an 'expert witness' in League of Women Voters of Florida v. Lee, which challenges the restrictive voting law."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) taught a class with Moreno in 2015. At the time, Politico described the professor as "a longtime Rubio friend." The NRSC, one of the two GOP groups who hired Moreno, is chaired by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
"The two Republican groups intervened in the voting-rights lawsuit in support of the state in hopes of preserving the new rules, which restrict voting by mail and reduce the availability of ballot-drop boxes. The new law was enacted after an election in which Democrats outvoted Republicans by mail," the report explained. "Moreno's hiring as an expert witness illustrates the implications of a policy in which public-college professors can offer paid testimony only on the side of the state."
Read the full report.
