(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against alleged crackhead Andrew Gillum, the former Democratic mayor who lost to current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018, Fox News reported.
Gillum, 43, had previously been on trial for 17 counts of fraud allegedly committed during his run for governor.
The former Tallahassee mayor’s charges included allegedly pocketing campaign funds, illegally receiving gifts (including theater tickets to Hamilton) and lying to FBI agents.
However, a jury previously acquitted him of one count of lying to the FBI and had failed to reach a verdict on the other counts, leaving the decision with Attorney General Merrick Garland’s politicized Justice Department as to whether to continue its pursuit of a conviction.
The failed gubernatorial candidate had previously asserted that he was the victim of selective prosecution because he was a black candidate for governor.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, a Trump appointee who presided over the trial, had previously refused to throw out the charges, ignoring Gillum’s claims that the trial was politically motivated.
Winsor did not issue a ruling following the prosecution’s motion to drop the charges.
Gillum can now “resume his life and public service,” said one of his attorneys, David O. Markus.
“Andrew Gillum had the courage to stand up and say ‘I am innocent.’ And that is finally being recognized,” Markus wrote in a statement. “We want to thank the hard working jury who did their job and explained to the government why it should drop the case.”
Gillum’s troubles extend beyond the charges, however.
The former rising star was discovered heavily intoxicated with two other men in a luxury hotel room by Miami police in March 2020. Police had been called to the scene to investigate a drug overdose.
Photos of the hotel room showed stained bed sheets and empty pill bottles strewn across the floor.
Gillum called the incident a “wedding celebration” when speaking to media after the incident.
“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends,” he said.
He later checked himself into a rehabilitation facility, taking a long leave of absence from public life.
