Sean Shecter, Steven Lee Speak with Law360 for Article Predicting Trump’s Fate Based on Recent Public Corruption Trials

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Atlanta, Ga. (May 15, 2023) – Fort Lauderdale Partner Sean P. Shecter and Atlanta Partner Steven H. Lee recently spoke with Law360 for an article regarding how the verdicts in the public corruption trials of former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Commonwealth Edison's (ComEd) ex-CEO may impact the current hush-money case against Donald Trump. 

As the article, titled "How Gillum, ComEd Verdicts Might Foreshadow Trump's Fate" describes, a federal jury found Gillum not guilty of lying to federal investigators about the alleged misuse of campaign funds, while federal jurors convicted ComEd’s ex-CEO and three lobbyists of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Mr. Shecter told Law360, "For Trump, the question will become, 'Is the jury going to see this as a Gillum case or a ComEd case?' And if you look at those two cases, which are very similar and in the political realm, you can have a pretty good analysis or thought pattern of how things might be looked at by a jury in the Trump case." 

In addition, Mr. Shecter explained that the Gillum case was more convoluted that the ComEd case. While the prosecution in the ComEd matter could present their case in a single line – "Madigan wanted, ComEd gave, and ComEd got" – Mr. Shecter noted that the Gillum case was "a harder story to tell" and "not as clear a story of wrongdoing," adding, "Prosecutors can always get into trouble when they get out ahead of their skis and I think that's true in Gillum." 

Mr. Lee, likewise, noted, "What hurt the Gillum case was the prosecutors were trying to use the statements he made to undercover agents against him, but the defense used those responses as evidence that he wasn't willing to accept a bribe." Mr. Shecter agreed, explaining, "Wiretap evidence can be the strongest evidence. But it wasn't there in Gillum, which is why prosecutors have to be careful." 

Mr. Shecter serves as co-chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Government Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice, and chair of its Supply Chain Due Diligence Practice. A former federal prosecutor, he is also a member of the firm's Complex Business & Commercial Litigation, Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practices. 

Mr. Lee serves as vice chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Government Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice. As a former federal prosecutor, he focuses his practice on government and internal corporate investigations and complex litigation matters.

Read the full Law360 article here (subscription may be required). 

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