The new ad causing a war of words and legal threats

A new ad is causing a war of words and legal threats.

The television spot from the Republican Party of Florida labels Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum as radical and corrupt. It proceeds to suggest he is running from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

That claim is false.

While the City of Tallahassee is under an active FBI investigation, Gillum has not been individually named, as he has cooperated with the inquiry.

But now, his campaign is striking back. It is threatening legal recourse against TV stations — including WINK TV — that continue to air the advertisement.

Legal experts say the threat does not hold much weight.

“Regardless of truth or falsity,” Pam Seay said, a practicing attorney and professor at FGCU, “it is not the responsibility of the station to censor any advertisements that might come from a campaign or from a candidate.”

A lawyer for the Republican Party of Florida wrote a letter to Florida TV stations. It said federal law strictly prohibits the removal of the ad.

According to Seay, even if the Gillum camp can prove the Florida republican party was aware that the content was false, the recourse would be minimal.

“If they knew that this was absolutely false and did it anyway,” Seay said, “then there should be a case of defamation against them. The remedy? Publish a retraction, say, ‘oops sorry.'”

WINK News reached out to the Gillum campaign on Monday. There is still no decision as to whether it will take legal action. Nor did the campaign clarify what that legal action would be.