Andrew Gillum Indicted on Federal Charges

Former gubernatorial candidate and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D-FL) is once again in hot water after confirming that he has been indicted for fraud linked to his campaign.

Mayor Gillum was once thought to be the future of the Florida Democrat Party in 2018, however lost a tight race to Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

Gillum has been indicted on 21 counts of wire fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, who unsealed the indictment Wednesday. Gillum allegedly took gifts and campaign contributions from an undercover FBI agent in 2018.

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

According to the indictment, between 2016 and 2019, Gillum and Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire fraud "by soliciting and obtaining funds from various people and companies" by making false promises.

"The indictment also says the two used third parties to divert some of the money to a company Lettman-Hicks owned, then she would give the money to Gillum, disguised as payroll payments, for his personal use," reported WCTV

Gillum issued a public statement to NBC News regarding the case, "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."

Since losing the governorship to DeSantis, Gillum seems to have been experiencing a seemingly endless fall from grace in the public eye.

In 2020, The Floridian broke the story of Gillum being found in a Miami hotel overdosed on drugs, with other suspected substances like crystal meth being present in the room.  It is also questioned if Gillum was having an affair with the two men present with him behind his wife's back.  However, when he came out as bisexual on a television interview that same year, many have drawn their own conclusions.

Shortly after the controversial events, Gillum entered rehab and has not touched politics at the same level he used to, just four years ago.