Feds to drop corruption charges on former Democrat rising star Gillum, after acquitted in Fla. court

Federal prosecutors have asked the courts to dismiss an indictment against former Florida Democrat governor candidate Andrew Gillum.

Gillum lost the state's 2018 gubernatorial race to Republican Ron DeSantis by less than 1 percentage point.

The charges are in connection to Gillum's time as a city of Tallahassee council member and mayor. 

The government "respectfully moves that this court dismiss the indictment against the Defendants Andrew Gillum and Sharon Lettman-Hicks," prosecutors wrote in a filing Monday, according to The Tallahassee Democrat. 

Gillum was expected to have used the name recognition from his close race to further his political career. But it collapsed after he was found in a Miami hotel in 2020 too intoxicated to talk to police. A male prostitute who had apparently overdosed and bags of possible methamphetamine were also found in the room.

Gillum was not charged in the incident. 

In the Florida trial, Gillum and Lettman-Hicks were charged last year with 21 counts including wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI.

Following a nearly three-week trial, jurors earlier this month acquitted Gillum on one charge of making false statements but were unable to reach a verdict on 18 other wire fraud and conspiracy counts against him and former campaign adviser Lettman-Hicks. Judge Allen Winsor then declared a mistrial on the conspiracy and fraud charges.

The case will be completely dismissed if Winsor issues an order to do so.

"We want to thank the hard working jury who did their job and explained to the government why it should drop the case. Andrew has endured a lot over the past few years and now can resume his life and public service," Gillum's defense attorneys said after the prosecutors' filing. 

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.