Federal prosecutors are dropping the remaining 18 fraud counts against former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum after a jury deadlocked on the charges.
The move brings to an end the federal case against Gillum, the 2018 Democratic nominee for Florida governor who came about 32,000 votes shy of defeating then-U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis.
Federal prosecutors last year accused him of steering campaign contributions into his personal accounts by conspiring with his mentor and “political godmother,” Sharon Lettman-Hicks.
They charged him last year with 21 counts, including a single count of lying to FBI agents. On the eve of trial, prosecutors dropped two of the counts.
After a two-week trial in a Tallahassee courtroom, a federal jury on May 4 found Gillum not guilty of lying to the FBI. They couldn’t agree on the other 18 counts, but jurors later told that they were 10-2 in favor of finding him not guilty, and some called the government’s case “beyond flimsy.” In a letter from several jurors, they said the federal government should not continue pursuing the case, the Democrat reported.
In a statement Monday, Gillum’s attorneys — David O. Markus, Margot Moss and Katie Miller — thanked the jury for doing “their job” and for explaining “to the government why it should drop the case.”
“Andrew Gillum had the courage to stand up and say I am innocent. And that is finally being recognized,” they said. “Andrew has endured a lot over the past few years and now can resume his life and public service.”