Florida's Andrew Gillum faces hearing over allegations of improperly accepting gifts from lobbyists
Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum faces an administrative hearing Wednesday over allegations he improperly accepted gifts from lobbyists.
The state Ethics Commission says it found probable cause in January to believe that Gillum, the former Tallahassee mayor, accepted gifts in violation of civil law, including travel expenses in Costa Rica and a ticket to the Broadway show "Hamilton."
Administrative Law Judge E. Gary Early is to hear testimony Wednesday in Tallahassee. The judge is not expected to rule this week. If he determines there were violations, the matter would go back to the Ethics Commission for possible sanctions.
Gillum, a Democrat, narrowly lost last year's governor's race to Republican Ron DeSantis, who had pummeled the former mayor about the ethics probe. Gillum denied the allegations during the campaign.