Andrew Gillum found not guilty of lying to FBI
Andrew Gillum, a former rising star in the Democratic Party, was acquitted Thursday of lying to the FBI, but the jury deadlocked on 18 other charges.
Gillum, who narrowly lost to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018, was accused by federal prosecutors of conspiring with his mentor, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, to divert campaign contributions for personal use during his unsuccessful run for governor of the Sunshine State.
The 12-member jury reached its verdict on the one charge after more than four days of deliberation.
Federal District Court Judge Allen Winsor declared a mistrial on one conspiracy charge and 17 fraud charges against Gillum and Lettman-Hicks.
Assistant US Attorney Gary Milligan II said the government will retry Gillum and Lettman-Hicks on the charges the jury deadlocked on, according to USA Today.
Gillum told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday that he feels as if he has been “hunted” for the last seven years.
“I and our family have felt over these last seven years under attack on all sides. They’ve quite literally tried to take everything. And the beauty is that in our system, the powers that be don’t always get to decide. Everyday people like you and me sometimes get our swing at the ball and today the jury took it,” Gillum said.
“Today, all I can muster is gratitude,” Gillum told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday. AP
“Today, all I can muster is gratitude,” the former mayor of Tallahassee added.
Gillum had faced a maximum prison term of 20 years for the top counts against him.
The charge he was acquitted on stemmed from interactions he had with undercover FBI agents in New York, who gifted him a ticket to the Broadway play “Hamilton,” dinner, a hotel room and a boat ride, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say they will retry Gillum on the 18 counts that the jury did not reach a verdict on. AP
Gillum allegedly told the bureau during an interview that he had cut off contact with the undercover agents after the New York trip, but prosecutors alleged that he didn’t.
Gillum faded out of the political spotlight after scandalous personal struggles that followed his 30,000 vote loss to DeSantis.
He sought treatment for alcoholism in 2020 after he was found by police officers in an inebriated state in a Miami Beach hotel room in March of that year.
Cops also found baggies of crystal meth and another man – reportedly a gay male escort – suffering from a possible drug overdose in the room Gillum was staying in.
Gillum denied that he was using drugs and later came out as bisexual.
Source: New York Post
