Christian Ziegler, Florida GOP Chair, is requesting a $2 million payoff to step down from his position, as officials within the state party confirmed emissaries for Ziegler approached the party on his behalf.
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, of Moms For Liberty, admitted they were involved in a threesome with a woman who has accused Christian of rape. The Sarasota woman told police in October that Christian Zieger came to her apartment alone and raped her after she was told that Bridget would not be available for another threesome.
Ziegler has resisted calls for his resignation, and maintains that the sex with the third party was consensual.
The Sarasota County School Board on Tuesday approved a resolution calling for Bridget Ziegler to resign.
Sarasota Police have recovered a cell phone video taken by Christian Ziegler of the sexual encounter.
The apartment’s surveillance video, according to the sources, shows Ziegler knocking on the woman’s door and walking inside, which appears to contradict the woman’s claim to police that he walked into her apartment after she opened the door to walk her dog.
Inside the apartment, 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 act was brief, and included explicit instruction from the woman to keep her new shirt clean. The two then exited the apartment building together, Ziegler through a side door to his truck, and the woman could be seen walking across the street to get food and returning to her apartment.
“We would need to know more, but if the video shows even what appears to be consensual sex it will be very difficult to get past [for police and prosecutors],” said a Florida defense attorney.
Christian Ziegler wrote in an email to state GOP officials that his family is “rock solid” and his wife is “behind me 150 percent” as the police investigation continues.
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