A federal grand jury issued a subpoena demanding information about former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.
The subpoena is requesting “documents, electronically stored information, or objects” about Gillum, his 2018 campaign for governor and Forward Florida, his political committee, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
The document also lists several people who are associated with Gillum. They include:
- John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, a non-profit. Gillum served on its board until March 2017.
- Investor Donald Sussman, who donated $1.5 million to the gubernatorial bid, and his advisor Harris Purnell.
- Sharon Letterman-Hicks, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy organization National Black Justice Commission and a friend of Gillum. Her public relations organization, P&P Communications, is also listed. She also served on the Schott board.
Jackson, Sussman and Purnell have not commented on the subpoena. Letterman-Hicks was reportedly evasive when the Times spokes to her over the phone.
“You’re asking me some deep information,” she said before ending the call, according to The Times. “If you’d like to send it to me, I can have a point of reference of what you’re talking about. But I can’t be of further assistance sight unseen.”
The subpoena was dated March 26, according to The Tallahassee Democrat.
The FBI has been investigating the Tallahassee City Hall since 2015 and Gillum, a former mayor, insisted he had nothing to do with the alleged corruption. So far, three people have been arrested in connection with the FBI’s findings.
“Twenty-plus subpoenas have been issued and not one of them has anything to do with me,” he said last year.
In May, the former mayor expressed his hope the investigation would end soon.
“I’m not waiting for any shoes to drop,” he said. “I do hope that whatever the FBI is up to that they bring it to a speedy conclusion. I think that would be in the best interest of my city, but also for the individuals involved.”
The subpoena against Gillum focuses more on his gubernatorial campaign and less on City Hall.
Gillum has not been charged with anything but the Florida Commission on Ethics believed there was probable cause he violated ethic laws when he accepted gifts from undercover agents while mayor. He reportedly paid $5K and in exchange, the commission dropped four out of five ethics charges.
Gillum declined to comment on the subpoena but insisted he was not guilty of any wrongdoing, according to WCTV.
"We stand ready to assist any future review of our work, because I am confident we always did the right thing and complied fully with the law,” he said in a statement.
“We ran an open and honest campaign. A campaign powered by thousands of volunteers and supporters. A campaign that captured imaginations and earned over four million votes. When you run a campaign that puts the power in the hands of the people, and fights for change, it inevitably invites close scrutiny, regardless of the facts.”
The deadline to submit the requested materials is June 7.
