TALLAHASSEE — A federal jury was empaneled Monday in the trial of former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who was indicted last year on corruption charges including wire fraud and lying to federal investigators. 

Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor, catapulted to rising-star status in Democratic circles as he campaigned against now-Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018. DeSantis narrowly defeated Gillum, winning by less than 33,000 votes in what was one of the nation’s marquee elections.

Gillum and a longtime adviser, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, were indicted last year after a lengthy federal investigation into corruption in city government. The duo face allegations of making false statements to the FBI, conspiring to commit wire fraud and committing wire fraud. Gillum and Lettman-Hicks, who were accused of diverting campaign funds to Gillum’s personal use, have pleaded not guilty.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, defense lawyers and prosecutors spent Monday selecting 12 jurors and three alternate jurors from an initial pool of 66 candidates. The jury includes two Black men and three Black women.

Gillum, who attempted to become the state’s first Black governor, has steadfastly maintained his innocence.

“We’ve got a long day ahead, but if we are fortunate, we will get a fair jury. That’s all we want,” he told reporters Monday morning as he entered the federal courthouse in downtown Tallahassee.

Among those present during jury selection were Gillum’s wife, R. Jai, other family members and longtime friend Daryl Parks, a Tallahassee lawyer.

On the eve of the trial, Gillum used social media to drum up contributions to the Bring Justice Home Legal Defense Fund, a crowdsourcing effort spearheaded by Ben Crump, a nationally renowned civil-rights attorney who also is a close ally of Gillum.

“One of my greatest challenges yet is the court case that begins tomorrow. I am unequivocally innocent of the gross allegations being made against me. But I can’t win this fight alone. Thank you for the prayers and words of support many of you have extended to me and my family,” Gillum’s post said.

Gillum is represented by David Oscar Markus, A. Margot Moss and Katie Miller of the Miami-based Markus/PLLC firm.

Prosecutors last week filed what is called a “superseding” indictment against Gillum and Lettman-Hicks, dropping two wire-fraud charges. Gillum now faces 19 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and making false statements.

At Markus’ request, Winsor asked potential jurors about their opinions on guns and on LGBTQ issues. The charges against Gillum involve funds related to a Black LGBTQ-advocacy organization and an organization that supports stricter gun control.

The jury pool was made up of men and women from Leon County along with a handful of surrounding rural areas, including Madison, Liberty and Wakulla counties.

The indictment, delivered by a grand jury last year and unsealed in June, painted a damning portrait of Gillum and Lettman-Hicks and focused on activities between 2016 and 2019, a time of Gillum’s political ascendancy.

Prosecutors accused Lettman-Hicks of illegally steering money to Gillum through her company, P&P Communications.

Gillum’s attorneys filed motions seeking to have the charges dropped and have also contended that the former mayor was singled out for prosecution because he was a Black candidate for governor. Winsor refused to dismiss the case in December.

For about a year after his narrow defeat to DeSantis, Gillum continued to enjoy national fame, working briefly for CNN as a political commentator in 2019.

But he dropped out of the spotlight after a 2020 incident in a South Beach hotel room, where a man reportedly overdosed. Gillum was in the room, and a police report said he was “unable to communicate with officers due to his inebriated state.”

Three small bags of suspected crystal meth were found in the room, police said, but Gillum denied doing drugs.

In March 2020, Gillum announced he was going into a rehabilitation facility because of alcohol abuse. He also said he was bisexual.

The Tallahassee public-corruption probe — dubbed “Operation Capital Currency” by the FBI — also snared Scott Maddox, a former Tallahassee mayor and former Florida Democratic Party chairman. Maddox pleaded guilty in 2019 and served time in federal prison.

— News Service Assignment Manager Tom Urban contributed to this report.

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I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, and I wish I was reaching out under better circumstances. For the past three years, I have been focused on my personal, mental and physical health, spending time with my family, and continuing to work on the issues that have always been important to me – albeit behind the scenes and out of the public eye.

I am facing one of my greatest challenges yet in a court case that begins tomorrow in Tallahassee. First, let me state unequivocally, that I am innocent of the gross allegations being made against me. I have never taken advantage of my office or position to cheat, con, or deceive anyone. To the contrary, I have always fought on behalf of those who sit on the margins of our society, no matter what the cost. While this case has targeted my character, service, and actions, I want you to remember that I am the same Andrew that you’ve known all along—a man of character and integrity with a heart for service.

No matter when you met me, I hope that you realized my passion for public service is born out of an inherent desire to make my community and the lives of others better. I have been dedicated to public service since middle school student government, and that dedication continued throughout my time as a student leader at FAMU. I was elected to a citywide local office when I was just 23 years old, I served as mayor of Tallahassee and became the first Black person elected the Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida – coming closer than any Democrat for that office in over twenty years. My motivation to serve has always been rooted in my experience growing up poor, and I am driven to fight against all odds to make the future one of limitless possibilities for everyone.

Justice frequently alludes people who look like me. But I know that a fair trial with a representative jury who is able to hear the full truth and facts will have no choice but to render me innocent against these allegations.

As I prepare for what is to come over the next few weeks, I am reminded of the words of former heavyweight champion James J. Corbett:

“When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish that your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped.”

Please know that I am always ready to fight one more round. But I can’t win this fight alone. Thank you for the prayers and words of support that you extend to me and my family. Please keep them coming. They sustain us more than you know. And for those who are able, please consider making a donation to my legal defense fund. I am so grateful to Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump, Angela Rye, Bakari Sellers, and a host of other friends who helped to establish the Bring Justice Home Legal Defense Fund. My family and I have made considerable financial sacrifices to defend my innocence, and your contributions will go toward the $1 million in additional funds needed to cover the trial and my legal representation. I’m deeply grateful for your willingness to stand with me during this challenging time.

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Read Andrew Gillum Indictment
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Recent reports have indicated a superseding indictment may be filed. However, it is unclear whether any new indictment would include additional charges.

Ahead of the trial, attorneys on both sides have been seeking to limit what the jury can hear.

The jury was set to hear six recordings of Gillum taken by undercover FBI agents. Gillum’s defense team is asking the judge to bar the jury from hearing the recordings. They argue that five of the recordings do not feature Gillum at all. Gillum is present at the Edison restaurant for the sixth recording but leaves after an hour and 22 minutes. Gillum’s attorneys claim prosecutors are using the recordings as a way to spread a false image.

Gillum’s attorneys are also asking the judge to bar the jury from seeing any evidence of his April 2019 Florida Ethics Commission settlement. Gillum agreed to pay a $5,000 civil fine in that settlement. His attorneys argued that the settlement is irrelevant.

Federal prosecutors have also filed several motions within recent weeks.

U.S. Attorney Jason Cody is asking the judge to bar the jury from hearing any of Gillum’s claims of selective prosecution and a nearly five-year delay in charging him with a crime. Prosecutors argue that the evidence irrelevant and will divert the jury’s attention away from unimportant matters.

Gillum and Hicks were charged as part of the FBI’s long-running corruption probe (Operation Capital Currency) which targeted prominent local politicians. Previously, Mayor and City Commissioner Scott Maddox, his aide, Paige Carter-Smith and business man John Burnette were all convicted earlier and sentenced to federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida unsealed the indictment Wednesday, showing Gillum has 21 counts against him. The indictment alleges that Gillum accepted gifts and campaign contributions from an undercover FBI agent.

Gillum is facing charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements, the court document says.

Sharon Lettman-Hicks was also listed as a defendant in the indictment.

Read the 26 page Gillum Indictment.

Caputo reports that the exact charges are unclear and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida would neither confirm nor deny details about the criminal case against Gillum.

In a written statement to NBC News, Gillum acknowledged the case but said it is politically motivated without offering specifics.

“I have spent the last 20 years of my life in public service and continue to fight for the people,” Gillum said. “Every campaign I’ve run has been done with integrity. Make no mistake that this case is not legal, it is political. Throughout my career I have always stood up for the people of Florida and have spoken truth to power. There’s been a target on my back ever since I was the mayor of Tallahassee. They found nothing then, and I have full confidence that my legal team will prove my innocence now.”

Caputo reported that two sources with whom Gillum spoke Tuesday told NBC News that he began phoning friends frantically about the criminal case. Neither would speak on the record because they weren’t authorized to speak on his behalf. They said he is scheduled to meet with prosecutors at 10 a.m. and that his indictment could be unsealed at 1 p.m. ET.

That source said Gillum was called Tuesday morning and informed he was going to be criminally charged for campaign finance-related charges.

Gillum had been under federal investigation for years, starting with his time as Tallahassee mayor when he accepted freebies from lobbyists and special interests — including a free New York Harbor boat rides and tickets in New York to the musical “Hamilton,” which were supplied by an undercover FBI agent posing as corrupt developer. Gillum was not criminally charged in that scheme, but he agreed to pay a $5,000 state ethics fine for improperly accepting gifts.

TALLAHASSEE — Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum said in a television interview aired Monday that he is bisexual, as he continues to re-enter the public spotlight after a March incident in which he was found intoxicated in a Miami Beach hotel room.

Gillum said on the “Tamron Hall Show” that he doesn’t “identify as gay, but I do identify as bisexual. And that is something that I have never shared publicly before.”

The statement came after a tumultuous six-month period for Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor who narrowly lost the 2018 gubernatorial race to Republican Ron DeSantis and had been widely viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party. He would have been the state’s first Black governor if elected.

In a March 12 incident, Gillum was found inebriated in a South Beach hotel room where suspected crystal meth was discovered and another man had reportedly overdosed, according to police. Gillum announced after the incident that he was going to a rehabilitation facility for alcohol abuse.

Gillum, 41, emerged from political exile in July with an 11-minute video posted on social media that addressed depression and alcoholism. Gillum spoke in the video about the impact of losing the governor’s race, which was decided by fewer than 33,000 votes.

 “I had totally underestimated the impact that losing the race for governor had had on my life, and on the way that those impacts started to show up in every aspect of my life,” said Gillum, who has long been married to his wife, R. Jai, and is the father of three children. “It was a constant reminder of failure and my own personal failures. … It was a reminder that I had let so many people down.” 

Gillum, who worked as a political analyst for CNN after the election loss, also praised his wife in the video, calling her “a woman who knows everything that I am, and everything that I am not, and she chooses to love me.”

The statement Monday on the Tamron Hall talk show about being bisexual immediately drew heavy attention, with the snippet posted on social media. Gillum quickly drew support from groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and the National Black Justice Coalition, which advocates for Black LGBTQ people.

“Gillum’s reflections demonstrate that there must be space in our country for people to be themselves without shame and fear,” David Johns, executive director of the coalition, said in a prepared statement. “When we are forced by harmful societal expectations to operate in black and white, with no room to express the many gray areas of ourselves that make us who we are, we get hurt.”

“After conversation with my family and deep reflection, I have made the decision to seek help, guidance and enter a rehabilitation facility at this time. This has been a wake-up call for me. Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse. I witnessed my father suffer from alcoholism and I know the damaging effects it can have when untreated. I also know that alcoholism is often a symptom of deeper struggles. I am committed to doing the personal work to heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.”

“I now need to firmly focus on myself and my family. I will be stepping down from all public facing roles for the foreseeable future.”

“I want to apologize to my family, friends and the people of Florida who have supported me and put their faith in me over the years.”

“I ask that you respect my and my family’s privacy during this time. Thank you.”

The incident did not result in any arrests.

The presence of such high ranking law enforcement officials at the scene warrants comments about any contacts between officers and political officials related to the involvement of Andrew Gillum.

However, according to media reports, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber stated, “There does not exist an active investigation surrounding this matter. I have no further comment.” It appears Gelber took no questions.

Campaign finance records show that Gelber, who is a Democrat, donated $1,000 to Gillum’s Florida gubernatorial campaign.

According to the report, two police officers – Gomez and MacDonald – initially responded to the hotel room “in emergency mode.”

The report then indicates that Sergeant Saygeh was notified. After this entry, the report notes that Lieutenant Armatrading, Sargent Fernandez, Detective Alvarez, and Detective Cabrera “responded.”

The final entry shows that Captain George, Captain Garcia, & Captain Morgalo “responded.”

The report also indicates that a photographer was on the scene and “BWC USED”. The “BWC” refers to Body Worn Camera.

Andrew Gillium has released a statement about the incident that occurred in Miami Beach. The statement is provided below.

“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends. While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines.”

Travis Dyson, one of the two men in the hotel room when law enforcement officials arrived, told a reporter for the Miami Times that, “I personally was not celebrating a wedding. I don’t know if [Gillum] was in town for a wedding. He did not mention that.”

Original Report

According to a City of Miami Beach police report, former Tallahassee Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum was found in a Miami Beach hotel room in which paramedics were called due to a medical emergency involving a drug overdose.

Gillum was not arrested.

The report indicates that Gillum was unable to communicate with authorities on the scene and ultimately returned to his residence without incident.

The police report indicates clear plastic baggies containing suspected crystal meth were found in the hotel room.

Based on comments by Dr. Erwin Jackson after meeting with officials in the Governor’s Office on Monday, it appears the delay in processing ethics cases has more to do with procedure than the individuals involved.

Jackson stated he was told that the “governor wants to change the current procedures. He believes once a politician is found guilty the process is over. The governor feels the “ethics judges” are best equipped to make a final decision. He also believes that any political influence should be avoided! They plan to seek these changes in this session.”

Jackson said he “was assured the delay had to do with changing the process and not because of the individuals involved.”

Original Report

The Tallahassee Democrat is reporting that a backlog of nearly 30 recommended orders from the state’s ethics board, which imposes penalties on an array of public officials, is going unaddressed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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The backlog of cases involve two orders related to two former City of Tallahassee officials – Mayor Andrew Gillum and City Manager Rick Fernandez.

When contacted by TR, Dr. Erwin Jackson, who filed the complaints against Gillum and Fernandez, said he was shocked that DeSantis did not finish the process.

“It is amazing what you have to go through to hold elected officials accountable. I will be at the Governor’s Office on Monday morning to find out what is going on,” said Jackson.

In April of last year, Gillum agreed to a settlement with the Florida Commission on Ethics related to trips he took with city lobbyist Adam Corey to New York and Costa Rica. In the settlement Gillum admits he took a gift from city lobbyist Adam Corey while in New York and has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine.

In early 2019 Fernandez acknowledged violations of various ethics statutes related to a $4,700 discount on the catering price for his daughters wedding reception and the use of FSU sky box tickets for four different home games in 2016.

The settlement recommends a public censure and reprimand and a civil penalty totaling $6,000.

Amid the controversy, Fernandez resigned from his city manager position with the City of Tallahassee on January 3, 2018 and, as part of the separation agreement, received $94,000, or 18 weeks of pay.

Gillum and Fernandez have not paid the fines because it is up to the governor to accept the orders created by the Florida Commission on Ethics and have them carried out. DeSantis has failed to accept the findings and no one in the Governor’s Office is commenting.

Ben Wilcox, research director for Integrity Florida – a nonprofit, nonpartisan government ethics watchdog, told the Tallahassee Democrat that it is a “huge concern because (the commission) is struggling to enforce the state’s ethics laws.”

The report states that the “political committee for Andrew Gillum spent $240,000 on lawyers last month, a substantial rise in the organization’s legal expenses that coincides with a far-reaching federal investigation involving the former nominee for governor.”

The TBT reported that “Forward Florida had already spent $25,000 on legal fees every month since March, when the U.S. Attorney’s office in north Florida started dropping subpoenas that demanded information on Gillum, the Democrat’s campaign, his political committee, a wealthy donor, a charity that employed him and a former employer.”

In May of this year, the U.S. Attorney issued a federal grand jury subpoena demanding documents and emails related to Gillum’s political actvities dating back to January 2015.

The TBT reported that officials with the Forward Florida political committee acknowledged the escalating legal bills were related to complying with the federal grand jury subpoena.

In response to a tweet by attorney John Morgan, Gillum replied with some harsh language. Gillum tweeted:

“I don’t live on your plantation and I don’t take advice from Trump impersonators & DeSantis suck ups.”

The back and forth began Sunday morning when John Morgan tweeted out a link of a recent TR report about Andrew Gillum transferring $500,000 from his gubernatorial campaign account to a non-profit that Gillum runs.

Morgan, who has previously criticized Gillum for holding back campaign funds in his close race against Ron DeSantis, wrote:

” Does anyone believe anything that comes out of this dude’s mouth? Of course it must be in an account that the public and his donors never see. And when will he transfer another $500K? When he spends this first $500K.”

Then he added:

“We need to explore a lawsuit to recover the monies given in trust to @AndrewGillum and now in a slush fund. Thank God for Florida that @GovRonDeSantis won.”

Gillum responded:

” John, remember when you called me to drop out & work for Phil because you couldn’t let Gwen win? You only care about transactions and distractions. I don’t live on your plantation and I don’t take advice from Trump impersonators & DeSantis suck ups. “

A screen shot of the tweets are listed below.