Andrew Gillum's Forward Florida PAC pays six-figure legal tab in corruption case

Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read
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The same political action committee created to help put Andrew Gillum in the governor’s mansion is being tapped now in hopes of keeping him out of federal prison.

Forward Florida, Gillum’s political action committee from his failed 2018 bid for Florida governor, recently paid his Miami lawyers $440,181, according to reports filed with the Division of Elections. It was one of the single biggest expenses ever reported by the PAC.

The committee made the payment to the Markus/Moss law firm on July 11, the same day Miami lawyers David Markus and Todd Yoder officially notified the court that they would be representing the former Tallahassee mayor and city commissioner.

Continuing coverage:

Gillum and longtime adviser Sharon Lettman-Hicks were indicted in June by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud for allegedly funneling campaign donations into their own bank accounts.

The charges grew out of an undercover FBI investigation into public corruption that began in 2015 and led to convictions against another former mayor, Scott Maddox; his close aide, Paige Carter-Smith; and businessman John “J.T.” Burnette. All three were sentenced to federal prison on bribery charges.

Forward Florida, which has long paid Gillum’s legal fees related to the investigation, is at the heart of some of the allegations against Gillum and Lettman-Hicks. One of the undercover agents, who posed as developer “Mike Miller,” covered the $4,386 food and drink bill at an early Forward Florida fundraiser, though it was never reported.

According to the indictment, someone in Gillum’s inner circle identified only as Individual B solicited donations to Forward Florida with the understanding he would get something “very significant” in return.

Gillum also allegedly directed campaign staff to give part of a $250,000 donation to Forward Florida with the rest going to Lettman-Hicks to “manage.” More than half the money went to Lettman-Hicks’ business, P&P Communications, and eventually disbursed to the defendants, according to the indictment.

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Forward Florida has raised more than $38.8 million since its launch in February 2016, though contributions dwindled severely after the 2018 election and neared a trickle by mid-2019.

By 2020, the PAC had spent more than $700,000 on legal expenses related to the FBI probe. It has only about $125,000 left in its coffers after paying the most recent legal bill, which was first reported by City & State.

After Gillum's loss in the governor's race, he announced Forward Florida would use $3 million in unspent money to help register voters and get Democrats elected across the state. That effort later shifted to a separate nonprofit, Forward Florida Action, as the PAC became largely dormant.

Gillum's use of campaign donations to pay for his defense is not without precedent. In 2018, Maddox burned through nearly all of his contributions — some $125,000 — from a shelved state Senate campaign to help cover legal bills

Both Gillum and Lettman-Hicks pleaded not guilty. A trial at the U.S. Courthouse in Tallahassee is set for Aug. 16, though that date will likely change. Tallahassee lawyers Mutaqee Akbar and Robert Morris are representing Lettman-Hicks.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum corruption case: PAC pays $440K in legal fees