Andrew Gillum Moved $500,000 To Nonprofit
To Shield Financial Data From Public View
In an effort to register 1 million new voters in Florida ahead of the 2020 presidential election, failed Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has shifted tactics from using a political committee required to report every expenditure to a private nonprofit that can disclose much less financial data, including the sources of donations.
Gillum’s use of the nonprofit, called Forward Florida Action, is notable given the Florida politician’s warning last February about the influence of “dark money” in his own race for governor, referring to entities that obscure their donors. Gillum is deploying his nonprofit for the voter registration drive instead of utilizing his political committee, Forward Florida.
The change came after the Tampa Bay Times reported in May that the FBI had subpoenaed records related to his 2018 gubernatorial campaign. This after Gillum’s time as Tallahassee mayor was tied to an FBI probe into city hall corruption, a federal investigation that involved undercover FBI agents going on trips with Gillum.
The Tampa Bay Times first reported on Gillum’s shift in financial tactics, saying: “Gillum moved $500,000 from the political committee to the nonprofit last month, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. What Gillum does with that money will largely be shielded from public view. Unlike his political committee, which is required to itemize every expenditure and report it to the state each month, the nonprofit does not have to disclose its spending. Nor will the nonprofit have to account for where it gets its money.”
Joshua Karp, a spokesperson for Gillum, said the former mayor is using the nonprofit because it “is allowed to directly spend money on voter registration efforts” in a manner that the political committee is not allowed to act.
Writing at the Tallahassee Democrat, Bill Cotterell, a columnist and former reporter for the newspaper, opined, “Taking political financing private may be legal, but looks wrong for Gillum.”
Progressive organizations and the Democratic Party recognize the centrality of Florida for the 2020 presidential election and have been working to deploy a massive ground game to register voters, increase turnout and lobby Floridians against President Donald Trump.
With its 29 Electoral College votes, Florida is the nation’s biggest swing state and is critical to Trump’s path to victory in the upcoming race. If statewide 2016 voting patterns are repeated, the Democratic candidate for president would be able to win the White House by capturing Florida and one other swing state – Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, or Michigan.
Bill Clinton’s Many Trips With Jeffrey Epstein
Former President Bill Clinton, previously accused of multiple assaults against women, has issued a statement claiming that he “knows nothing” about Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes involving trafficking and minors.
Below, in no particular order, are six major problems with Clinton’s full statement.
- Clinton’s statement claims a “total of four trips” on Epstein’s private jet amid widespread reports of many more trips.
Fox News previously reported flight records show that from 2001 to 2003 Clinton took at least 26 trips aboard Epstein’s jet, dubbed the “Lolita Express.” Newsweek reported on a previous Gawker story exposing flight logs showing numerous private airplane trips that Clinton allegedly took with Epstein. Some trips were allegedly shared with women listed on flight manifests without their full names.
- Clinton’s statement leaves out that the former president was reportedly on the airplane with Epstein himself.
The statement that “in 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane” seems to imply that Clinton utilized the airplane itself but conspicuously fails to mention whether Epstein was onboard. According to numerous reports, Clinton was a frequent flyer on the pervert’s private airplane, traveling with Epstein and unidentified women numerous times.
- Clinton’s statement claims that his Secret Service detail was present “on every leg of every trip” with Epstein. Yet numerous reports allege that Clinton ditched his assigned Secret Service agents on some flights.
- Clinton’s statement does not mention that some of the trips reportedly encompassed multiple legs with several other possible flights.
The statement about the airplane trips reads, “In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation.”
The Asia trip alone, which flight records show occurred between May 22 and May 25, 2002, was reportedly a five-leg trip.
According to Fox News, flight records show Clinton flying to such destinations as “Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, China, Brunei, London, New York, the Azores, Belgium, Norway, Russia and Africa.”
- Clinton denies traveling to Epstein’s private Island where many of the illegal acts reportedly took place. One Epstein accuser disputes that claim, placing Clinton at the scene on the island although that charge has not been substantiated.
- Clinton has a long history of credibility issues regarding claims about his mistreatment of women.
Clinton famously denied the story of Monica Lewinsky but was later impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath about this relationship with the White House intern. He also denied credible accusations from Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey, among others. After going public over a decade ago, those women detailed their charges anew in news-making exclusive video interviews with this reporter that became main themes of the 2016 presidential campaign.