Andrew Gillum trial: Jury digs in on Day 2 of deliberations
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A 12-person jury deciding the fates of Andrew Gillum and Sharon Lettman-Hicks reconvened for a second day of deliberations in their public corruption trial.
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 soliciting campaign donations from major donors and grantmaking nonprofits and illegally tapping into the funds for their personal use. Gillum also is charged with lying to the FBI about a "Hamilton" ticket and other gifts he allegedly got from undercover agents in New York.
The government and the defense rested last week. Both Gillum and Lettman-Hicks opted not to testify. After closing arguments Friday, the jury, which is made up of seven women and five men, deliberated about four hours before deciding to break for the day.
Day 1: Jury selected, possible witnesses and an appeal to raise $1M
Day 2 opening arguments: Money as a motive or forcing the evidence?
Day 3: How agents confronted mayor at Cascades; Adam Corey's moment
Day 4: Why the feds delayed charging Andrew Gillum and the money trail
Day 5: Prosecutors trace money trail from 'urgent request' for $250K
Day 7: Campaign operatives testify they weren't aware of P&P get-out-the-vote efforts
Day 8: Feds home in on 'Hamilton' ticket disconnect, 'abnormal' money trail
Day 9: Prosecutors and defense rest; former mayor opts not to testify
Day 10: Jury wraps deliberations for the day as closings paint dueling portraits of Andrew Gillum
Decoding the indictment ABCs: Guide to the people, organizations in Andrew Gillum trial
5:30 p.m. update
Jurors in the Andrew Gillum/Sharon Lettman-Hicks trial decided to break for the day around 5 p.m. They deliberated about eight hours today following four hours of deliberations on Friday.
The 12-person jury was told to return at 9 a.m. Tuesday to the U.S. Courthouse on North Adams Street.
Earlier in the afternoon, the jury asked for Post-it notes and Scotch tape.
12:30 p.m. update: Jury has another question after ordering in lunch
Jurors asked about Count 1 in the indictment, which is the false statements charge against Andrew Gillum. They appear to have asked whether they need more than one false statement to convict. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor said they did not.
"You must follow all the instructions as a whole," Winsor said in his reply note back to the jury.
The question came shortly after the jury ordered lunch and after about seven hours of deliberation over two days.
Federal prosecutors alleged during the trial that Gillum lied at least twice during a June 2017 interview with overt FBI agents at Cascades Park. In the interview, Gillum denied that undercover FBI agents ever offered or gave him gifts. He also said he broke off contact with the agents after they said they needed local government "guarantees" from him in exchange for campaign donations.
The jury instructions specifically mention both alleged false statements. The instructions also say that when government agents are conducting an investigation, a false "no" in reply to an answer is a false statement.
11 a.m. update: Jury has another question
At about 11:30 a.m., the jury asked whether they can be given a table of contents for the evidence. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor sent a note back saying, “Unfortunately none is available that I can provide.”
Alex Morris, a Tallahassee attorney representing Lettman-Hicks, said he supported giving the jury a table of contents.
"I think that they're looking for a road map to the exhibits," Morris told Judge Winsor. "I think it would be helpful to give them one."
However, David Markus, a Miami lawyer representing Gillum, said he opposed the jury's request.
Winsor noted that if the court created an index or table of contents, each item would have to be described, and both the government and defense would have to agree on that.
"We'd have to at least visit the description of them," Winsor said.
The jury has been deliberating for about seven hours over the span of two days.
The complex case included voluminous text messages and emails, financial documents and wiretapped conversations.
9 a.m. update: Gillum enters the courthouse after jury takes the weekend off
As Andrew Gillum and his lawyers entered the courthouse, he was asked how he is feeling. He responded I "feel like Monday morning."
Jury deliberations ended early Friday evening for the weekend after a bit of drama.
Shortly before stopping for the day, jurors gave a glimpse into their head space when they asked U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor several questions, including whether they could find one of the defendants guilty for wire fraud and not the other.
Winsor answered that they could in fact find one of the defendants guilty and the other not guilty, as explained in the jury instructions. The question left lawyers and the defendants themselves trying to decipher what it might mean about a possible verdict.
Federal prosecutors, who are trying to secure their fourth and fifth convictions in Operation Capital Currency, the FBI’s long-running undercover probe into public corruption in Tallahassee, appeared buoyed by the news. Shortly after their questions were asked and answered, the 12-person jury decided to break for the day and reconvene Monday morning.
Check back with Tallahassee.com for more on this story.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com and follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum corruption trial: Updates as jury deliberates
