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Don Surber: True to Their Roots
 [via Insty] The FBI created a sting on a politician and held off prosecution for 7 years. Not only that but the FBI lied to him and then charged him with lying to the FBI. What a piece of blackmail the FBI would have held over a governor — if Gillum
In this case, the FBI had evidence of what it now calls a crime in 2018 when Gillum almost became governor. No bust was made. The FBI — which has the ability to leak like a colander — said nothing to the press. Imagine what power the bureau would have had in Florida if it could hold this over the head of a governor. Maybe it does. Who knows what dirt the FBI has in its files? The FBI tried to get Martin Luther King to kill himself once the bureau learned of his illicit affairs. Hoover wipes a tear and says "That's my boys"
[MSN] The opening statements in Andrew Gillum’s federal corruption trial on Tuesday were stark contrasts in viewpoints. Either the former Tallahassee mayor who narrowly lost the 2018 governor’s race to Ron DeSantis was pretending not to take bribes from undercover FBI agents, as prosecutors allege, or he was really refusing to take bribes. Either Gillum’s brother knew everything that Gillum was doing, as prosecutors allege, or his brother was just a troubled blowhard pretending to know. How jurors view the situations over the next three weeks could decide the fate of the one-time rising star in the Florida Democratic Party, who is facing single counts of lying to FBI agents and conspiracy and 17 counts of wire fraud. In a standing-room-only courtroom on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Milligan described a complicated web of contributions, bank transactions and text messages that he said showed Gillum scheming with his mentor and co-defendant, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, to illegally steer campaign money into his own pockets. Milligan told jurors that Gillum was desperate for money after leaving a $120,000-per-year job with the progressive organization People for the American Way in 2016 to run for Florida governor. With only his $70,000-per-year mayor’s salary, Gillum’s financial situation was “not ideal,” Milligan said. He had debts, including two expensive cars, house cleaners and private school payments for his kids. To make up for it, Lettman-Hicks put him on the payroll at her company, P&P Communications, but the company wasn’t making any money from communications, Milligan said. Instead, the company was being paid in campaign contributions to do get-out-the-vote efforts and other work that never happened, he said. UNDERCOVER FBI AGENTS At the same time, undercover FBI agents posing as developers were delving into Tallahassee corruption. Milligan said their initial target was local developer J.T. Burnette, who is now serving a federal prison sentence on corruption charges. At the time, Gillum was not on the FBI’s “radar screen,” Milligan said, but the undercover agents hired Gillum’s friend, Adam Corey. The agents befriended Corey and Gillum’s brother, Marcus. The agents pretended they were interested in building projects in Tallahassee, and they proposed campaign contributions in exchange for Andrew Gillum’s support for the projects. Andrew Gillum repeatedly told the undercover agents that they should “separate in their mind’s eye” the idea of tying campaign contributions to the projects. Milligan told jurors that Gillum was trying to have it both ways: taking bribes without acknowledging he was taking bribes. “He wants something to happen, but he doesn’t want to take responsibility for it,” Milligan said. Ultimately, Gillum “didn’t take a bribe,” Milligan told jurors. The government accuses Gillum of soliciting political contributions under false pretenses, routing the money through Lettman-Hicks’ communications company, and then distributing the money to Gillum. Related: Andrew Gillum: 2022-06-23 Good Morning Andrew Gillum: 2022-06-23 Florida's former Democratic candidate for Governor Andrew Gillum, faces indictment on campaign fraud charges Andrew Gillum: 2020-04-26 Police Photos Show Crystal Meth in Hotel Room Where Andrew Gillum Was Found Related: People for the American Way: 2016-08-22 RightWingWatch: Horowitz Hopes Trump Will Jail Soros (video) People for the American Way: 2015-12-15 Norman Lear Vows to Fight Donald Trump's Anti-Muslim Rhetoric People for the American Way: 2013-08-07 Bradley Smith: The IRS Attack on Political Speech Posted by: Mercutio 2023-04-22 |
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