What They Are Saying: Andrew Gillum’s Gift Scandal “Couldn’t Have Come At A Worse Time” For His FL GOV Campaign

Florida Democrat Andrew Gillum is facing heavy criticism after documents procured via subpoena by the Florida Commission on Ethics revealed that he received a ticket to the Broadway show Hamilton from an undercover FBI agent, and then lied about it on at least five different occasions.

The documents also “contradict” Gillum’s repeated claim that he paid his own way on a vacation to Costa Rica, suggesting that a lobbyist paid for his luxury villa.

This new evidence raises serious questions about Gillum’s honesty and ethics and proves that he’s too tainted to be governor. Here’s what national and Florida political observers are saying about his most recent scandal:

The Tampa Bay Times called the records “a bombshell trove…that raise new questions just two weeks before next month’s election.”

“Undercover FBI agents paid for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s hotel room and his ticket to the Broadway musical Hamilton during a 2016 trip to New York City, according to a bombshell trove of records that raise new questions just two weeks before next month’s election.”

The Tampa Bay Times also concluded that the new findings “couldn’t have come at a worse time for Gillum.”

“Tuesday’s release of private emails and text messages by a former friend detailing the mayor’s trips to Central America with lobbyists and to New York with federal investigators couldn’t have come at a worse time for Gillum.”

A Florida Democratic consultant argued “the controversy could derail Gillum’s campaign.”

“But one Democratic consultant said the controversy could derail Gillum’s campaign if the story lingers, comparing it ironically to the letter then-FBI director James Comey issued in the final two weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign noting that a probe of Clinton’s private Secretary of State email server had been revived.”

The New York Times reported that the text messages “raise new questions over Andrew Gillum’s lobbyist connections.”

The Associated Press wrote that the documents “contradict” Andrew Gillum’s claim that “he paid his way on trips to Costa Rica and New York City.”

“Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has asserted he paid his way on trips to Costa Rica and New York City that are now the focus of an ongoing ethics investigation, but newly released documents appear to contradict the Tallahassee mayor.”

Politico reported that emails in the documents “refuted” Gillum’s contention that he paid cash for his May 2016 trip to Costa Rica.

“During the gubernatorial debate, DeSantis also pressed Gillum on whether he paid for the ‘villa in Costa Rica,’ a reference to his accommodations on that trip, which did not include Miller. Gillum has said he and his wife paid cash for the May 2016 Costa Rica accommodations, a contention refuted in the newly released emails.

In one of the emails, from June 2016, Corey promised his accountant a breakdown of an $8,868 credit card charge. Corey’s assistant later responded with a list of people to invoice.

That list shows that Gillum and his wife, R. Jai Gillum, were responsible for $941.95, but that line was crossed out. A note next to it said, ‘HOLD ON BILLING.’ Gillum’s email address was not included in a subsequent list of people who were invoiced for taking part in the Costa Rica trip.

In September, Kise said his client never received money from Gillum.”

Fox News confirmed the records show Gillum “accepted tickets to the Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’ from an undercover FBI agent.”

“Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for Florida governor, accepted tickets to the Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’ from an undercover FBI agent in the summer of 2016, according to documents made public Tuesday as part of an investigation by the state’s ethics commission.”

National Review wrote that Gillum “lied on numerous occasions” about the tickets.

“The records, which were provided to the commission by an attorney representing Adam Corey, a lobbyist and longtime friend of Gillum’s, include text-messages between Corey and Gillum, and indicate that Gillum lied on numerous occasions in claiming he was unaware who purchased the tickets when he attended the play.”