Florida's 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Andrew Gillum, indicted on 21 federal counts of wire fraud, conspiracy
June 22, 2022
The big story today in Florida is that Andrew Gillum, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee who lost by 0.4% to Ron DeSantis, has been arrested and indicted on 21 federal counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, and false statements.
His alleged crimes primarily revolved around a scheme to siphon off campaign money to make personal payments to himself, aided by Ms. Sharon Lettman-Hicks, a close friend of Gillum’s for well over a decade. Prior to launching his gubernatorial campaign in 2017, Gillum worked for a left-wing group named People for the American Way, receiving a salary of $122,500 in addition to his $70,500 annual salary as mayor of Tallahassee. This group leased an office in Tallahassee for $3,000 per month from Lettman-Hicks.
After commencing his campaign for governor, Gillum became directly employed through Lettman-Hicks’ business, P&P Communications, receiving a salary of $10,000 per month. This salary was allegedly funded in part by grant money solicited by Gillum and Lettman-Hicks for political advocacy with the donors being misled as to the ultimate destination of the funds being Mr. Gillum’s pocket.
According to the indictment, as reported on by Patricia Mazzei at The New York Times, even in the heat of the general election season, the Gillum campaign allegedly concealed funding that was being misdirected to his pocket as being for “get out the vote canvassing.” These actions, in addition to being corrupt, also could easily have handed the election to Ron DeSantis, who won by only 32,463 votes in an election where over 8 million votes were cast. Electorally, the Gillum campaign obviously could have benefitted from those funds going to campaign operations rather than being unlawfully redirected for personal profit.
This new scandal is in addition to Gillum’s sex and drugs scandal from early 2020, where he was found inebriated in a Miami hotel, allegedly in the company of a male prostitute with methamphetamines on the floor. No arrests were made or charges filed in this incident, however.
Although Gillum has denounced today’s indictment as politically motivated, it was recommended by a federal grand jury and is in fact being prosecuted by United States Attorney Jason R. Coody, who took office on April 25, 2022 as an appointee of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. This prosecution is not taking place within Florida state courts, but rather within the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, as the jurisdiction for the alleged crimes is federal, owing to wire fraud’s status as a crime falling under federal jurisdiction according to the commerce clause of the United States Constitution.
These charges are extremely serious, but it should also be noted that former President Donald Trump may have committed wire fraud with respect to potential misrepresentations and fraud regarding his “legal defense” fundraising that sought funding to overturn the results of the November 2020 election, although no charges have been forthcoming. Critics also point out the alleged crimes of United States Representative Matt Gaetz regarding statutory rape of a 17-year-old and trafficking of this girl across state lines. As of January 2022, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was involved as a cooperating witness, and there have also been several other developments unfavorable to Gaetz. Yet, no federal charges have been forthcoming against Gaetz.
Although these comparisons may be derided as “whataboutism” or “whataboutery,” which are pejorative terms used to criticize the act of changing the subject without addressing the problem at hand, it can be argued that the basis of our legal system is comparing cases in this manner. The United States Supreme Court building is emblazoned with the words “equal justice under law,” which represents a commitment to fair and consistent legal proceedings, particularly when it comes to prosecution in criminal matters. Also, supporters of Republican criminality also engage in whataboutism to an enormous extent in matters such as deflecting from the investigations of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, accusing educators of indoctrination, denigrating racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities, denying the existence of anthropogenic climate change, and so on. Therefore, any accusations of whataboutism from the majority of Republicans cannot be taken seriously.
Nevertheless, the 2020 sex/drugs scandal and today’s federal indictment of Gillum bode poorly for the Florida Democratic Party and national party, and are already being hammered by spokespersons and allies of Governor DeSantis. This will undoubtedly continue through the entire election season, with racist dog whistles linking Gillum’s alleged criminality and moral turpitude to being a black man. At the same time, Republicans manage to continue to hold the moral high ground in the conceptions of a large swath of Americans, particularly evangelical Christians, despite torrential evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately, this is a common theme throughout history in nations that slide into tyranny.
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Notes:
Regarding Gillum’s indictment on June 22, 2022:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/us/andrew-gillum-conspiracy-wire-fraud.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/22/politics/andrew-gillum-fraud-charges/index.html
Regarding Gillum’s 2020 drugs/sex scandal:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/14/andrew-gillum-hotel-room-man-apparent-overdose
Regarding Trump’s “legal defense” fund after the November 2020 election:
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105279623/jan-6-committee-trump-campaign-legal-defense-fund
Regarding Gaetz’s statutory rape / sex trafficking scandal:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/politics/joel-greenberg-sentencing-delayed/index.html