'Nowhere close to that standard': Disney moves to shoot down Ron DeSantis’ plea to disqualify judge
As the legal feud between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney continues, the longtime Sunshine State-based corporation is asking a federal judge to deny DeSantis' petition to disqualify the presiding judge, CNBC reports.
The battle between the the two has persisted since Disney objected the governor's anti-LGBTQ+ "Don't Say Gay" legislation.
Per CNBC, DeSantis' legal team "argued that Judge Mark Walker should recuse himself from the lawsuit over his comments in two separate cases that referenced the clash between the governor" and the entertainment conglomerate.
READ MORE: Florida GOP lawmakers express growing concern about DeSantis' war with Disney
Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said earlier this month, "The case that we filed last month made our position and the facts very clear. And that's really that this is about one thing and one thing only and that's retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation."
CNBC reports:
Disney's lawsuit alleges that DeSantis 'orchestrated at every step' a campaign to punish the company for speaking out against a Florida bill limiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity. That alleged scheme now threatens the company’s business, Disney alleges.
"Judges are not prohibited from referring accurately to widely-reported news events during oral arguments, nor must they disqualify themselves if cases related to those events happen to come before them months later," Disney attorneys wrote in a court filing.
"Disqualification is allowed only if the prior comments expose an incapacity on the judge's part to consider the new case on its own merits," the lawyers wrote, noting Walker's comment's come "nowhere close to that standard."
READ MORE: 'They're those people': Vanity Fair rips the DeSantis' Disney hypocrisy
CNBC's full report is available at this link.
