TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ An undercover FBI agent might have paid more than $4,000 in food and drinks for one of Andrew Gillum's campaign fundraisers in 2016, according to a new batch of records released Friday.
But the contribution in early 2016 does not appear in the records for Gillum's political committee, raising new questions less than two weeks before the November election.
The fundraiser for Gillum's political committee, Forward Florida, was on April 11, 2016, at the home of Adam Corey, a former lobbyist and a former longtime friend of Gillum's, according to an invoice and emails released by Corey's lawyer.
Roughly 40 people who attended the fundraiser were served filet mignon, salmon mousse canapes and cocktails, provided by 101 Restaurant, which was then run by Corey.
Emails show Corey billed "Mike Miller," who happened to be an undercover FBI agent investigating Tallahassee corruption, for the $4,300 tab.
"Attached is the invoice for the dinner you graciously offered to sponsor," Corey wrote to Miller five days after the fundraiser. "As mentioned, it was a bit higher than I expected because of some last minute attendees so let me know what you would like to cover and I'll handle the rest. Again, I really appreciate this!"
A search of Forward Florida's records does not show the contribution, and it's unclear from the records whether Miller, or someone else, paid for it.
Juan-Carlos Planas, a Miami elections law attorney and former state representative, said campaigns are often lax about documenting in-kind catering contributions despite the requirements of state law. He said he's a stickler with his clients because it's something that can easily be overlooked on finance reports.
"It's a clear violation. It's something that should automatically be sanctioned," he said.
Mark Herron, the attorney registered as an agent for Forward Florida when the committee initially opened, did not immediately respond to comment. He quickly texted a reporter that he was not available to talk when called on his cell phone.
The latest batch of records came from Tallahassee attorney Chris Kise, who on Tuesday released 150 pages of records, including texts messages and emails between Corey, Gillum and Miller.
Those records indicated that undercover agents gave Gillum a ticket to the Broadway musical "Hamilton" during a trip to New York in 2016, a revelation that has dominated the second-to-last week of Gillum's historic run for governor.
Kise has been compiling the records in response to a Florida Commission on Ethics probe looking into whether Gillum accepted gifts worth more than $100 without disclosing them during the New York trip and a trip to Costa Rica.
The complaint was filed this year by Tallahassee businessman Erwin Jackson, a longtime Gillum critic. On Thursday, Jackson said he had asked the ethics commission to include the Tampa trip in his complaint.
