FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New York, May 19, 2026 — Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) filed a complaint today with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission against Jeffrey Kuntz, chief judge of the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal.
Last February, Kuntz ruled in President Donald Trump’s favor in Trump’s frivolous defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board, even though he was seeking a nomination from Trump to the federal judiciary. He failed to recuse himself from the case or disclose his conflict of interest to the parties, in violation of ethical rules governing Florida judges.
Two weeks after Kuntz ruled for Trump, the White House Counsel’s Office interviewed Kuntz regarding the judicial vacancy he sought to fill. He was nominated to the federal bench last month and has faced questions from lawmakers about his failure to recuse himself from the Pulitzer case or disclose his conflict of interest to the parties.
The following can be attributed to Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at FPF:
“Trump can’t win his SLAPP suits on the merits, so he finds ways to corrupt the court system instead — from extracting bribes in exchange for merger approvals to settling litigation with his own agencies to rewarding judges who rule in his favor with lifetime appointments.
“It defies credibility that Judge Kuntz didn’t think the Pulitzer Board might want to know that he was applying for a job with Trump — a president infamous for transactionalism and political favoritism — while deciding Trump’s lawsuit against them. In any event, the Florida rules don’t leave it up to Kuntz’s subjective, self-serving discretion — judges must avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
“Attorney disciplinary commissions are notorious for inaction, often functioning more like protection rackets for lawyers and judges than regulators. That said, we hope the commission will rise to the moment and do the right thing.”
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