Andrew Gillum, the former Tallahassee mayor who narrowly lost to Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial election, was acquitted Thursday of lying to the FBI.
Gillum, the once-rising star of the Democratic party, was found not guilty of lying to undercover FBI agents in 2017. However, the 12-member jury failed to reach a verdict on 17 other charges related to the illegal use of political contributions.
The 43-year-old former politician was accused of accepting $57,000 in donations that were secretly funneled through a political adviser’s company to his bank accounts.
The adviser, Sharon Lettman-Hick, is the CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition and a former executive of the People for the American Way Foundation, a progressive advocacy group.
She ran for a Florida House seat in 2022 but suspended her campaign in June of that year after a federal grand jury indicted both her and Gillum on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and making false statements.
Prosecutors said they will retry both Gillum and Lettman-Hick on those counts.
Gillum was acquitted of lying to FBI agents posing as developers who paid for a trip to New York City for him and his brother in 2016.
Prosecutors said he lied about his interactions with the agents, saying his brother paid for “Hamilton” tickets. He also denied ever receiving anything from the undercover agents.
Outside the courthouse, Gillum said prosecutors had “quite literally tried to take everything from us,” but failed.
“And the beauty is 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,” he said.
He also thanked his wife, lawyers and his pastor for their support.
Gillum, a father of three, came out as bisexual in September 2020 in an interview with Tamron Hall. His revelation came about five months after he was found “inebriated” and “vomiting” in a hotel in Miami Beach. The incident involved a reported gay male escort and three bags of crystal meth found in the room by police. Gillum has denied using the drug.