Federal judge rejects Andrew Gillum’s effort to throw out federal corruption charges (From Miami Herald/News Service of Florida)

Former Tallahassee Mayor ANDREW GILLUM nearly defeated RONALD DION DeSANTIS in 2018.  In 2022, GILLUM stands accused of corruption.  

I admire the FBI's indefatigable spirit, and I wanted to be an FBI agent while I was I law school, interviewing with the FBI in Atlanta but rejected on account of bad eyesight (evidenced by Coke bottle eyeglasses).  Only years later did I learn from a St. Augustine Police officer that the FBI had relaxed its eyesight standards in response to an ADA lawsuit.  (You mean, "I could have had a V-8!?)

As an undergraduate, I was greatly impressed with the FBI's ABSCAM sting, which put criminal bribe-taking extortionate members of Congress where they belong -- in prison.  

From Miami Herald/News Service of Florida: 

Federal judge rejects Andrew Gillum’s effort to throw out federal corruption charges 

BY JIM SAUNDERS 

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA 

UPDATED DECEMBER 23, 2022 3:59 PM 

Former Tallahassee mayor and Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum leaves the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, after a hearing. Gillum was indicted on federal fraud charges. 

A federal judge has refused to dismiss charges of lying to the FBI and wire fraud against former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, while also short-circuiting a Gillum contention that he is a victim of selective prosecution. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor on Thursday issued a 21-page ruling that rejected arguments made by attorneys for Gillum, who was indicted in June along with a longtime adviser, Sharon Lettman-Hicks. 

The indictment alleged that Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor, made a false statement to the FBI, took part in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and committed wire fraud. Gillum, who narrowly lost the 2018 gubernatorial race to Republican Ron DeSantis, pleaded not guilty, and a trial is scheduled in April. The charges came after a lengthy federal investigation into corruption in city government and included allegations that political contributions were diverted to Gillum’s personal use. 

Gillum’s attorneys last month filed three motions seeking dismissal of charges and one motion seeking an evidentiary hearing on a contention that Gillum was singled out for prosecution because he was a Black candidate for governor. “Here, it appears that Gillum was singled out, investigated, and prosecuted because he was a Black candidate for governor, while others similarly situated (white and Republican candidates for governor) have not been targeted, investigated, and prosecuted in the same manner,” the Nov. 8 motion on the selective-prosecution issue said. But Winsor, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote Thursday that Gillum did not show evidence of “discriminatory effect.” 

“(Even) if he had offered evidence of discriminatory effect, he would still have to show discriminatory purpose,” Winsor said. “He would have to cite evidence showing that the government’s decision to prosecute him was ‘because of’ a protected characteristic. But he offers no evidence suggesting race- or political-affiliation-based prosecution.” Gillum’s attorneys raised a series of arguments in trying to get charges dismissed, including that prosecutors had violated Gillum’s due-process rights because of lengthy delays before the indictment. In part, they wrote that prosecutors waited nearly five years to charge Gillum for allegedly making false statements to the FBI related to conversations he had with undercover agents posing as representatives of a development company. “If Gillum had in fact made false statements during the June 14, 2017, conversation, the FBI would have been aware of the facts supporting that crime on June 14, 2017,” Gillum’s attorneys wrote. “Instead of charging Gillum then, the government sat on this charge for nearly five years. The delay was necessarily deliberate and tactical (or reflective of a lack of genuine belief that a false statement was made).” 

But Winsor called the motions filed by Gillum’s attorneys “meritless.” On the issue of delays in filing charges, for example, he said Gillum’s attorneys did not argue that a statute of limitations had been violated. “Faded memory is a possibility inherent in any delay; it does not constitute actual prejudice sufficient to bar prosecution,” Winsor wrote. “Second, even had he shown prejudice, Mr. Gillum has made no showing that the government delayed to gain a tactical advantage. He offers no reason to conclude that this was the purpose: he simply says it was.” 

This story was originally published December 23, 2022 2:23 PM.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/article270386287.html#storylink=cpy