Andrew Gillum Acquitted of Lying to FBI, US Government Will Seek Retrial

Andrew Gillum speaks at the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 6, 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

On May 4, a federal grand jury found former the mayor of Tallahassee and former gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum not guilty of lying to the FBI. For the remaining 18 counts against him and co-defendant Sharon Lettman-Hicks—which included wire fraud and conspiracy—jurors were deadlocked, and the court declared a mistrial.

According to the June 22, 2022, press release from the United States Department of Justice, Gillum and Lettman-Hicks “conspired to commit wire fraud by unlawfully soliciting and obtaining funds from various entities and individuals through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose,” between 2016 and 2019.

The indictment further alleges they used third parties to divert a portion of those funds to P&P Communications, a company owned by Lettman-Hicks. Lettman-Hicks then fraudulently distributed the funds, disguised as payroll payments, to Gillum for his personal use.

After five days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Gillum on the charge that he lied to the FBI about a “Hamilton” ticket and other gifts he took from undercover FBI agents in New York. However, the jury was unable to reach a consensus on the remaining charges, and U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor declared a mistrial.

Lettman-Hicks—the CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition—had filed to run for a state House seat on June 1, just days before she was arrested and indicted along with Gillum. While she later suspended her campaign, she called the charges “baseless” in a news release.

Gillum was once considered to be a rising star among Democrats.

In 2003, Gillum became the youngest person to serve as a Tallahassee city commissioner. In 2014, Gillum became the 126th mayor of Tallahassee, where he stayed until 2018. In 2016, Gillum delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Gillum launched his gubernatorial campaign in 2017. In 2018, Obama endorsed Gillum in his gubernatorial bid, calling him “gifted” and “inspiring,” Buzzfeed reported. He also received the endorsement of Kamal Harris.

In 2018, with the added backing of Bernie Sanders, Gillum won the Democratic primary to face the Republican candidate, Ron DeSantis. He was the first black nominee in a major political party to run for governor in Florida. However, Gillum’s star crashed in March 2020 when Gillum was named in a police report regarding a suspected drug overdose at a Miami Beach hotel.

Police responded around 1 a.m. to find Gillum naked on the floor, “inebriated” and initially unresponsive. Police say two other men were in the hotel room. The police report also stated that “clear plastic baggies” were found in the room “containing suspected crystal meth on both the bed and floor of the hotel room.” One of the two men, 30-year-old gay sex worker Travis Dyson, was treated for suspected cardiac arrest before being taken to the hospital.

Gillum was not charged with any crime and was allowed to leave the hotel after being cleared medically. Gillum later said in a statement that, while he “had too much to drink,” he insisted he “never used methamphetamines.” Gillum later came out as bisexual. He also entered rehab for alcoholism.

Lettman-Hicks was not the first political colleague of Gillum’s to be indicted of financial fraud.

Omar Smith at Andrew Gillum's campaign office. Courtesy of Project Veritas Action

As reported by The Epoch Times on Nov. 1, 2018, Gillum campaign aide Omar Smith became the treasurer of a political action committee (PAC), “A Better Florida for All.” While federal law (pdf) prohibits PACs from coordinating activities with a candidate’s campaign, Project Veritas Action found Smith working at Gillum’s campaign office. While the campaign said Smith was a volunteer and vendor, records show he was paid $4,500 in July by the Florida Democratic Party. Smith also said Gillum would not be able to deliver on his campaign promises and referred to Florida as a “[expletive] up [expletive] state” and “a [racial slur] state.”

Soon after, Gillum severed ties with Smith.

According to a Nov. 17, 2022, press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Smith was “sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release for lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Milligan said the government would seek a retrial of Gillum and Lettman-Hicks.