FBI was source of Gillum’s ‘Hamilton’ ticket

Democratic nominee for governor Andrew Gillum accepted a ticket to the musical “Hamilton” that came from an undercover FBI agent, according to text messages made public Tuesday.

The records filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics raise new questions about the FBI cloud that has dogged Gillum’s campaign and appear to contradict some of his previous statements. His opponent Ron DeSantis used that probe into Tallahassee government corruption as a source of attack during Sunday night’s debate on CNN.

Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee, traveled to New York City in August 2016 and went on outings with his brother and lobbyist and friend Adam Corey that were arranged by undercover FBI agents, the records show. One of those agents, known as Mike Miller, was posing as an out-oftown developer looking to do business in Tallahassee.

The documents include a copy of a text message sent from Corey to Gillum on Aug. 10, 2016. Corey’s lawyer turned over the documents in response to a subpoena from the state’s Ethics Commission.

“Hey brother, just checking in with you,” the message read. “Mike Miller and the crew have tickets for us for Hamilton tonight at 8 pm.”

Gillum texted back, “Awesome news about Hamilton.”

At the time, the musical was one of the hottest shows on Broadway with the best seats in the house going for as much $849 and less prime seats averaging $475 on the secondary market, according Times.

The Ethics Commission’s probe into Gillum’s travel is separate from the FBI investigation. Florida law bars elected officials from accepting gifts worth more than $100 from lobbyists.

Gillum said in a video posted on Facebook that he got the ticket from his brother, Marcus, and assumed he had paid for the ticket.

“These messages only confirm what we’ve said all along,” Gillum said. “We did go to see ‘Hamil- to The New York