An ethics complaint against former Tallahassee mayor and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum is moving forward after state officials found probable cause Friday that Gillum violated ethics laws by allegedly accepting gifts during trips with lobbyists in 2016.
Though records in the case have not yet been made public by the state Commission on Ethics, Gillum’s lawyer Barry Richard said after the closed-door hearing at the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee that the case would next go before an administrative law judge, likely in the next 45 to 60 days.
“We’re going to have a full evidentiary hearing before an independent judge. It’ll be open to the public, and everybody can decide for themselves,” he told reporters. “There for sure will be no settlement.”
Tallahassee businessman Erwin Jackson, who filed the complaint, said the commission had found probable cause on five of six counts, and cast the decision to carry the case forward as a success: “This is a victory for the good ones,” he said.
Gillum did not attend Friday’s hearing.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
