Once rising Democratic star now indicted in federal court

A few years back, Ron DeSantis wasn’t the rock star he is today among the right. Back then, he was a gubernatorial candidate that was looking at potentially losing a very red state in Florida.

He was running against former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, and Gillum was a rising star in the Democratic Party. The party liked him a lot and they were hoping that he’d flip the state blue. Some hoped he’d make a run for the White House when it was time.

Yet the election didn’t go that way. DeSantis won and is now the one being talked about as a presidential candidate while Gillum has largely disappeared from the spotlight.

At least, until today, when things got…interesting.

You see, Gillum has been indicted on charges of fraud relating to his gubernatorial campaign.

Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Gillum, who was once caught in a hotel room with drugs and a male escort, has been hit with a 21-count federal indictment for fraudulent fundraising and other raps, officials said Wednesday.

Gillum, who narrowly lost to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018, conspired with his mentor, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, to reroute campaign contributions for personal use, federal prosecutors said.

Lettman-Hicks, who was also indicted, helped to divert a portion of the donations to a company she controlled and masked the fraud by painting the funds as payroll payments to Gillum.

The former Tallahassee mayor asserted his innocence ahead of a court appearance this afternoon.

“Every campaign I’ve run has been done with integrity,” he said in a statement. “Make no mistake that this case is not legal, it is political. Throughout my career I have always stood up for the people of Florida and have spoken truth to power. There’s been a target on my back ever since I was the mayor of Tallahassee. They found nothing then, and I have full confidence that my legal team will prove my innocence now.”

Oh, it’s political? Really?

This is federal court, not state. DeSantis couldn’t make this happen because it’s from the federal level. That’s the level where prosecutors ultimately answer to Democrat President Joe Biden.

How is this political?

Of course, it’s not, but by claiming it’s a political hit, he can deflect everything and make himself out to be the victim, rather than a fraudster who stole from his own campaign.

Now, in fairness, he is entitled to his day in court and he has a right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. We’ll see how the trial goes, but considering Gillum’s history, I won’t be surprised to see him crash and burn.

It’s always amusing how the people who claim the other side is bought and paid for by groups like the NRA are the ones who are typically being indicted for fraud. Some argue that leftists always project, and while I’d like to believe that’s not universal, it sure does seem to hold true, now doesn’t it?