Florida AG Demands New York Times’ Records, Paper Denounces ‘Clear Attempt to Chill’ Protected Speech

Rebecca Blackwell/AP photo

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a 28-page letter to The New York Times demanding six years’ worth of records under threat of lawsuit, accusing the newspaper of damaging its credibility in a way that could harm shareholders. The paper has denounced the effort as an assault on its First Amendment-protected speech.

Uthmeier was appointed to his position by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after the governor appointed his predecessor Ashley Moody to the Senate after President Donald Trump appointed Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.

The Miami Herald report by Liv Caputo on Uthmeier’s letter noted that while Moody was “quiet, media adverse” during her tenure in the role, he has “transformed the office…into an active, legally intensive position that’s pursued everything from criminal investigations into Raul Castro and OpenAI to claims that Catholic bishops have flouted their duties.”

In Uthmeier’s letter, which was sent Monday, he cited his duties as trustee and legal counsel for Florida’s State Board of Administration, overseeing the pension fund for state employees; the fund owns about 160,00o shares of stock in The New York Times Company.

Uthmeier claims he is concerned the Times is becoming viewed as “untrustworthy,” citing several examples of instances where the Times has issued corrections or received public criticism over its reporting  or opinion columns, accusing The Gray Lady of “repeated publication of factually unsupported content and from the perceived absence of any control and required supervision by the Company’s Board of Directors (the ‘Board’) over the editorial standards the Company itself has adopted to prevent it.”

These issues, argued Uthmeier, could put the shares the Florida pension fund owned at risk. His office did not reply when the Herald asked if the state planned to sell its Times stock.

The attorney general set a deadline of August 24, 14 days from the date of the letter, for the Times to respond, threatening to sue in New York courts if they do not comply.

“We are aware of the demand letter, which, while positioned as a request under corporate law, is a clear attempt to chill First Amendment-protected journalism,” a spokesperson for the Times told the Herald via email when reached for comment. “We will respond more fully in due course.”

Last week, the Times released its Q2 earnings report, touting the addition of 280,00 digital subscribers.

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