Gillum Trial Day 2 opening arguments: Money as a motive or forcing the evidence?

An undercover agent testified and lawyers delivered opening arguments on the second day of the public corruption trial of Andrew Gillum and Sharon Lettman-Hicks.

Gillum, former Tallahassee mayor and the 2018 Democratic nominee for Florida governor, and Lettman-Hicks, his longtime mentor and owner of P&P Communications, are charged with illegally soliciting campaign donations and pocketing them in their own accounts. Gillum also is charged with lying to the FBI about gifts undercover FBI agents gave him during a 2016 trip to New York City.

Here are the latest developments in the trial.

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Federal prosecutors say Gillum sought donations because “he needed the money” for himself

Opening the case for the prosecution, Gary Milligan II told jurors that when undercover FBI agents first arrived in Tallahassee in 2015 for “Operation Capital Currency,” they were focused on John “J.T.” Burnette, a wealthy developer who was later convicted on bribery charges in the probe.

“That’s why this began,” Milligan told jurors, adding that Gillum wasn’t on their “radar screen.”

Burnette suggested the undercover agents, who posed as investors with Southern Pines Development, hire Adam Corey, a lobbyist and close Gillum friend, to introduce them to city and county commissioners.

Corey suggested the agents, who wanted to fly “under the radar,” pay for a fundraising dinner for Forward Florida to give Gillum support without their names appearing on official paperwork. Miller floated the $4,386 cost of the dinner in April 2016.

Back story: FBI undercover agent billed for food, drinks at Andrew Gillum fundraiser, documents show

In August 2016, agents Mike Miller and Brian Butler met with Gillum and Corey in New York City, where they also met Gillum’s younger brother, Marcus Gillum, for the first time. During a subsequent trip to Nashville, Marcus Gillum allegedly asked the agents for four $25,000 donations to seal the mayor’s support for four different projects.

Milligan said Gillum sent his brother and his friend Sean Pittman, a Tallahassee lawyer, lobbyist and campaign consultant, to talk about donations and local projects.

“He’s not having these conversations himself,” Milligan said of Gillum. “Over and over again (he’s) trying to distance himself. He wants something to happen, but he doesn’t take responsibility for it.”

Milligan also told jurors, “Let’s be clear. Andrew Gillum is not charged with bribery. He never took a bribe.”

The FBI started to look at the finances of P&P Communications, the firm founded by Gillum’s co-defendant, Sharon Lettman-Hicks. The bureau saw that Gillum was being paid “large amounts of money” by P&P, which hired Gillum in 2017 as he was gearing up to run for governor and left his long-time job with the People for the American Way Foundation.

Milligan said P&P “defrauded” several nonprofits by soliciting a total of $242,500 in campaign donations and funneling the money to her firm to pay Gillum. At the time, he said, P&P had almost no money in its bank account.

“Mr. Gillum had a motive for this,” Milligan said. “He needed the money.”

Milligan added that the case wasn’t about whether Gillum was a good mayor or not.

“This case is not about politics,” he said. “It’s not about whether you liked Gillum or his politics. This case is about deceiving donors … deceiving his own campaign. All to keep the checks flowing to P&P.”

Defense lawyers say Gillum, Lettman-Hicks are innocent

Margot Moss, a Miami lawyer representing Gillum, opened by showing photos of Gillum and his wife, R. Jai, and their three kids together.

“This case is about what happens when you put a target on someone’s back,” she said. “And then they twist and they force the evidence in the direction of the targets. But this is not what our justice system is about.”

Flashback to 2017: Gillum pledges cooperation with FBI, says he's not focus of probe

She said Gillum’s salary at P&P was “legitimate money.”

“The truth is Andrew Gillum is innocent. That’s why he has chosen to go to trial to say loud and clear ‘I am not guilty,’ ” Moss told jurors.

She said Gillum constantly told the agents to separate in their minds the projects they were seeking support for and the campaign donations they wanted to give him. She said Gillum got so upset with the agents after one conversation about donations and projects that he reached out to Pittman, who said in a recorded conversation that quid pro quo talk with Gillum “scares the s--- out of him.”

“He’s just not that way,” Pittman told one of the agents. “If I even suggested a (quid pro quo), he’d tell me to kiss his ass.”

She said Marcus Gillum was the “troubled kid” from Andrew Gillum’s family, who got in trouble at school and was arrested at a young age. She said Marcus looked up to his brother and wanted to please him.

“He’s saying whatever he has to say just so he can go back to his brother and say, ‘I got you a big donation,’ ” Moss said.

One of Lettman-Hicks’ lawyers, Mutaqee Akbar of Tallahassee, said evidence or “bread crumbs” in the case prove that she is innocent.

“This case is about the government’s failure to see the truth even when the truth was staring them in the face,” Akbar said.

Defense's portrayal of Gillum draws a warning from the judge

Gillum's defense attorney also sketched out Gillum’s early life, noting that he was the first in his family to graduate from high school and from a university. She painted a portrait of a young Andrew Gillum as a “nerdy little kid” who watched U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a long-serving California Democrat who is Black, on C-SPAN.

Gillum’s political success “was destiny come true” for him, Moss said.

Gillum’s lawyers, in part, have argued that he was targeted because he was a Black Democrat running for governor.

But U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who in December rejected a request to dismiss the charges against Gillum, admonished Gillum’s attorneys after Tuesday’s opening statements.

“This case is going to be tried on facts and evidence, not about whether someone grew up poor or whether they were inspired by somebody,” Winsor, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, warned after the jury left the room.

— News Service of Florida

Undercover agent Mike Miller testifies about NYC trip

The government called its first witness, Mike Miller, one of several undercover agents who posed as investors with Southern Pines Development, an FBI front.

Under questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Grogan, Miller said he and Corey helped plan a trip in August 2016 to New York City with Gillum and his brother. The idea was to get a “relaxed” Gillum out of town so that he would talk more candidly with agents.

Flashback to 2017: 'Mike Miller': Developer or FBI agent?

'I got you': Texts, emails detail how Adam Corey, FBI arranged trips for Andrew Gillum

During the trip, the agents, including Brian Butler, who posed as a “green energy” investor, paid for hotel rooms for Corey and the Gillums, tickets to “Hamilton,” a boat ride around the harbor and dinner and drinks.

After the undercover investigation wrapped, overt FBI agents interviewed Gillum in June 2017 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony in a public park. Gillum allegedly denied that the agents ever gave him anything during the interview.

The agents, Corey and Gillum met at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square before the “Hamilton” show. Miller said he initially planned to get tickets to a Mets game, but the weather was bad.

“We made some calls last minute and got some tickets” to “Hamilton,” one of the agents said.

After the trip, Gillum texted Miller.

“You guys were excellent hosts!!” Gillum said. “I’ve had a blast. Please extend by deepest appreciation to Brian.”

Gillum told agents to keep campaign donations, development plans separated in their 'mind's eye'

Prosecutors played a number of secretly recorded conversations between the undercover FBI agents and Marcus Gillum. During one of the conversations, an agent asked him what his role was in Gillum’s campaign for governor.

“We’re not sure,” Marcus Gillum said. “He just wants me as his right (hand) man. He knows everything I do, and he wants me to be as involved as I can be.”

During a meeting in Nashville, Marcus Gillum told undercover agents Mike Miller and Brian Butler that “75 grand would be great” to get his brother’s approval on three different projects. He said the money would go through “another consultant company” owned by Sean Pittman.

Under questioning from the government, Miller told jurors that the FBI needed to confirm how much Andrew Gillum knew about what Marcus Gillum was saying. In February 2017, Miller met with Andrew Gillum and his brother at the Ocean Prime restaurant in Jacksonville to talk.

Andrew Gilllum said he would be filing for governor around the first of March. Miller, who was interested in annexing Fallschase from Leon County into the city, said he and his investors could contribute $50,000.

“Well, we’re there,” Andrew Gillum said. “We’ll get there. I’m good.”

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The mayor said he had spoken with then-City Manager Rick Fernandez about the city’s annexation policy and mentioned that the businessmen would have to apply.

Miller mentioned doing “something creative” to get donations to the Gillum campaign without the developers’ names on it. Andrew Gillum changed the subject by bringing up a story in the news about an alligator eating an eagle, Miller told jurors.

The agent testified that Andrew Gillum “would not get involved in those conversations” about connecting development projects with campaign contributions.

On March 13, 2017, Mike Miller met with Andrew Gillum at Madison Social to catch up. Gillum talked about traveling across the state and country, from The Villages to San Francisco, to raise money.

“They passed around a God-damned hat” and collected $5,000 at The Villages, a conservative seniors enclave, and bigger sums elsewhere.

“Gotta get it, baby,” Gillum said. “This ain’t for the faint-hearted. I’m excited, man.” Later, he said, “I become an animal around this (expletive). If you’re not an animal, you don’t get it.”

Gillum said his campaign team did opposition research and found that his friendship with Adam Corey was a liability.

“That mother (expletive) dominated the whole conversation,” Gillum said.

Miller told Gillum that his brother had upped his request for campaign donations from $25,000 to $75,000 for three projects, including developments at Fallschase and Myer’s Park.

“I hate that he … he should not have correlated at all,” Gillum said.

Miller talked about developing a portfolio of properties along South Monroe Street as mixed-use projects, which Gillum said he loved. Miller mentioned he was at the $100,000 level for donations. But Gillum said to separate those things from his “mind’s eye.”

Sean Pittman tells agents they ‘spooked’ Andrew Gillum,

Later that night, Mike Miller and Brian Butler met with Sean Pittman at a local wine bar.

“First of all, y’all spooked the mayor,” Pittman said. “I don’t know what you did to spook him.”

Pittman added that talk of a quid pro quo “scares the (expletive) out of (Gillum).”

“Some people are that way,” Pittman said. “He’s just not that way. Sometimes, I wish he was. I just want to, No. 1, get the mayor out of it. He’s out. So whatever Marcus said, Marcus is young and he’s fun and he may have been repeating something somebody said.”

Pittman said what the agents needed was someone “who can do that (expletive)” and that what he needed was someone who could help his candidate, Gillum.

“I want him to feel comfortable,” Pittman said of Andrew Gillum. “And I need you guys to feel comfortable that No. 1, you’re helping him, because there’s a great chance he can win this thing.”

Pittman tells agents he can work with them on 'complicated things'

Pittman suggested the agents work with him directly rather than Marcus Gillum or Corey.

“I’m the guy you can come to for complicated things,” Pittman said. “There are people who don’t want their names on campaigns that we found ways to get it to the campaign that are legal.”

On March 31, 2017, Pittman called Miller to say he was trying to raise $1 million for Gillum by the end of the day and asked whether he could donate $100,000.

Miller told Pittman he would need Gillum to guarantee his support for their projects in return.

“Those kinds of guarantees are hard to get,” Pittman said. “In fact, to some degree, they’re almost illegal to get. It’s just not his style.”

Pittman said he “can’t advise (Gillum) to make that call.” But he said he liked Miller and that the two of them could talk “apples to apples.”

At some point, Pittman mentioned hiring him for $5,000 a month and said if anyone could “merge” campaign donations and projects, he could.

Gillum’s defense cross-examines agent Miller

Under cross-examination by Gillum lawyer David Markus, Miller acknowledged that the agents never made the campaign donation.

Markus said Gillum always distanced himself from any quid pro quo talk.

“That’s what we want politicians to do, right?” Markus asked.

“Yes, sir,” Miller replied.

Markus said none of what the agents discussed with their subjects ever happened.

“It turns out a lot of talk about nothing,” Markus said.

“Correct,” Miller replied.

Quotables from Day 2

The News Service of Florida and Associated Press gathered these quotes from the courtroom.

• “After a year spending tens of thousands of your — taxpayer — money, flying around the country, wining and dining … still they’re trying to get that target,” ‒ Gillum defense attorney Margot Moss while accusing the FBI of trying to trap Gillum into lying about campaign-related finances.

• “This case is not about politics. This case is about deceiving donors (and) stealing from his own campaign.” ‒ Prosecutor Gary Milligan II in opening arguments.

• “He’s just not involved. Andrew Gillum doesn’t know the source of the money, doesn’t know whether it was obtained by fraud. Let’s be real. Andrew Gillum was running for governor, running up and down the state. … He’s not thinking about, ‘Where’s P&P getting my money?’” ‒ Gillum defense attorney Margot Moss in opening arguments.

• "Whether he was the best mayor or worst mayor, it doesn’t matter... There’s not going to be any magic moment. Wait and listen carefully.” ‒ Prosecutor Gary Milligan II urging jurors to be pay close attention to the evidence in the coming days.

Gavel to gavel coverage

While cameras and electronics are not allowed in the courtroom, stay tuned to tallahassee.com for daily updates from longtime investigative reporter Jeff Burlew (@jeffburlew on Twitter).

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum corruption trial: Opening arguments, FBI agent testifies