Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved Friday to disqualify the federal judge overseeing Disney‘s political retaliation lawsuit, alleging the judge’s feedback in earlier circumstances increase doubts about his impartiality.

Judge Mark Walker had in two separate circumstances “supplied ‘Disney’ for example of state retaliation” with out being prompted, legal professionals for DeSantis stated in a courtroom submitting.

Those remarks “might moderately suggest that the Court has prejudged the retaliation query” in Disney’s case, they argued. That’s as a result of Disney’s lawsuit alleges that DeSantis led a marketing campaign of political retribution towards the corporate after it criticized his controversial classroom invoice, labeled “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

“Because that query is now earlier than this Court, and since that query includes extremely publicized issues of nice curiosity to Florida’s residents, the Court ought to disqualify itself to stop even the looks of impropriety,” DeSantis’ authorized staff wrote.

A Disney spokesman didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for remark.

Disney filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, after the corporate’s growth offers had been nullified by a board of supervisors that DeSantis had picked to oversee the district that features Walt Disney World. The board claimed Disney had struck the offers to thwart its energy, however the leisure big says they had been crafted to safe future investments in its Florida parks.

DeSantis had changed the board together with his most well-liked picks after he and his allies focused Disney’s particular tax district. The concentrate on the district, which had been in place for the reason that Sixties, started simply weeks after then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek criticized the classroom invoice.

DeSantis’ authorized staff pointed to Walker’s remarks from the previous 12 months in two separate courtroom hearings as proof to assist his recusal.

In an April 1, 2022, listening to, Walker had requested, “is there something in the document that claims we are actually going to take away Disney’s particular standing as a result of they’re woke?”

In doing so, the judge had “used the State’s contemplated dissolution of Disney’s particular district for example of retaliatory conduct,” DeSantis’ legal professionals argued.

The different alleged instance got here in a June 21, 2022, listening to in a case accusing DeSantis of chilling speech in colleges. Walker had urged in that listening to that Florida’s moves towards Disney had been punitive actions, when he stated that the corporate was going to lose its particular standing as a result of it made an announcement that arguably “ran afoul of state coverage of the controlling occasion.”

The legal professionals for DeSantis argued that Walker’s “unprompted suggestion, on two separate events, that the State punished Disney by eliminating its ‘particular standing’ offers an look of partiality.”

“The Court’s feedback seemingly mirror its opinion on whether or not the State punished Disney’s speech by revoking Disney’s ‘particular standing,'” they wrote.

A spokesman for the board, whose members are additionally named as defendants in Disney’s lawsuit, declined to touch upon the newest courtroom submitting.

The feud between DeSantis and considered one of his state’s prime employers has gone on for greater than a 12 months. The two sides have solely grown extra entrenched because the governor gears up to launch his expected 2024 presidential campaign subsequent week.

DeSantis has made a reputation for himself by participating in divisive culture-war battles, together with his battle towards Disney, which the governor has slammed as a “Magic Kingdom of Woke Corporatism.”

But his drawn-out conflict with the House of Mouse has uncovered him to criticism from even some Republicans — and particularly former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly ripped DeSantis.

After Disney introduced on Thursday that it has abandoned plans to open up a brand new worker campus in Lake Nona, Florida, situated 20 miles from Walt Disney World Resort, Trump crowed on social media that DeSantis was getting “destroyed.”

Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and merchandise division, cited “altering enterprise situations” and the return of CEO Bob Iger as causes for the cancellation. Additionally, the corporate will not be asking greater than 2,000 California-based workers to relocate to Florida.

D’Amaro reiterated in his memo that the corporate nonetheless plans to make investments $17 billion in Florida over the following 10 years, together with the addition of round 13,000 jobs. The firm presently employs greater than 75,000 individuals in the state.

Disney declined to present particular updates on that funding, however has beforehand introduced plans to replace park sights, increase current parks and add extra cruise ships to its fleet in Florida.