Former Tennessee Speaker Casada arrested in corruption probe
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee’s former House Speaker Glen Casada and his top aide have been arrested on federal charges including bribery, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering with federal funds.
The 20-count indictment comes months after a Republican lawmaker abruptly resigned when faced with federal wire fraud charges involving Casada.
FBI agents arrested Casada and his former Chief of Staff Cade Cothren at their homes Tuesday morning.
The charging document alleges Casada and Cothren exploited their positions of power by working with another unnamed lawmaker to funnel money to themselves using a political consulting firm that concealed their involvement.
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Please see below for a statement from House Speaker Cameron Sexton on this morning’s situation:
“In Tennessee, we will not tolerate public corruption, defrauding our state, or bribery at any level. I commend the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its hard work, diligence, and dedication that resulted in this morning’s arrests.
As I have previously stated on several occasions, shortly after becoming speaker in 2019, I began assisting the federal authorities during and throughout their investigation — including leading up to today’s indictments, and I will continue to do so if a trial is needed.
Together, our legislative body has stood strong over the past two years to take significant actions during this investigation by passing laws to strengthen campaign finance regulations and new ethics laws for elected officials and staff.
Today is a good day for Tennesseans because we did not turn a blind eye on these criminal activities.”
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Nashville— The following is a statement from Tennessee House Minority Leader Karen Camper on the indictment of former House Speaker Glen Casada:
“When something like this happens, it reflects poorly on the entire Legislature. We are elected to serve the public and when that trust is broken, it’s very disheartening and erodes the confidence that our constituents have in government. This does however, highlight how badly campaign finance reform continues to be needed and that bi-partisan legislation already passed needs to go much farther.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and top aide arrested on federal bribery, kickback charges.
This is a developing story.
