Huge: FL Dem Gillum Took FBI Corruption Bait, Used Family as Excuse When Caught
New bombshell text messages revealed just weeks ahead of Florida’s gubernatorial election show that Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum accepted a free ticket for a popular Broadway show from an undercover FBI agent. But rather than own up to it, Gillum is putting the blame on his own brother.
Gillum, who is the mayor of Tallahassee, and his long-time friend and former lobbyist Adam Corey, became entangled in an FBI probe regarding corruption in Tallahassee during the summer of 2016.
The newly revealed text messages between Gillum and Corey, reported Tuesday by the Tampa Bay Times, show that Gillum accepted the free ticket from an undercover FBI agent, “Mike Miller,” posing as a corrupt developer.
“Mike Miller and the crew have tickets for us for Hamilton tonight at 8 p.m.,” Corey texted Gillum.
“Awesome news about Hamilton,” Gillum replied.
These messages absolutely shatter Gillum’s previous story.
When Gillum was asked by Republican opponent Ron DeSantis during a debate Sunday if he paid for the tickets to the New York show, Gillum avoided answering the question directly.
“My wife and I take vacations and we pay for our own vacations,” Gillum claimed.
“I don’t take free trips from anybody. I’m a hard-working person, I know that may not fit your description of what you think people like me do, but I’ve worked hard for everything that I’ve gotten in my life,” Gillum added.
Those statements didn’t age well.
Now Gillum is trying to double down on his story by trying to throw his brother under the bus for the acceptance of the ticket.
“We did go to see ‘Hamilton.’ I did get my ticket for ‘Hamilton’ from my brother. At the time, we believed that they were reserved by friends of Adam’s, Mike Miller,” Gillum said on Facebook Live.
It’s doubtful that Gillum’s brother, who lives in Chicago, would be able to get his hands on highly sought-after tickets to a show on Broadway. In addition, the Tampa Bay Times report said text messages show Miller paid for the airfare and hotel room for Gillum’s brother.
So Gillum wants voters to believe his brother was more than willing to accept free airfare and lodging in New York, but insisted on paying for “Hamilton” tickets?
“And when I got there after work, got my ticket, we went in there and saw it, assumed my brother paid for it, and so far as I know, that was the deal,” Gillum claimed.
However, we know the tickets came from the undercover FBI agent who did not accept payment for them.
In short, Gillum is implying that he doesn’t know the details about the ticket and his brother was the one who accepted the dirty ticket.
It’s sad to see Gillum throw his brother under the bus after being caught in a lie.
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