Image: Cade Cothren, a former legislative aide, walks down Nashville’s 7th Avenue with his attorney, Cynthia Sherwood, right, after being found guilty on 19 federal corruption counts. Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
By Sam Stockard [The Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
The chairman of Tennessee’s campaign finance watchdog group is pushing for an investigation into a former state staffer’s secret political action committee to determine whether it involved criminal activity.
Registry of Election Finance Chairman Tom Lawless said Tuesday he is asking the group’s executive director to reactivate a 2020 request for the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office to conduct a probe of Cade Cothren, a former aide to one-time House Speaker Glen Casada, and the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC. The investigation is expected to involve Casada as well.
“They have finished the criminal investigation, and those facts are available in our case, so come on people,” Lawless said, adding he believes the matter of renewal is “not open for discussion.”
The matter was put on hold as federal authorities pursued political corruption charges against Cothren and Casada, who were convicted in federal court this month on nearly 20 counts each in a kickback conspiracy. The two are expected to appeal, which could affect the board’s decision.
Bill Young, executive director of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said he is likely to review the matter with the Registry of Election Finance at its summer meeting. Sentencing for the pair is scheduled for Sept. 12.
“The guy’s looking at a number of years in prison, so I’m not sure we can do anything worse to him,” Young said.
Registry Chairman Tom Lawless recently told the Lookout he is interested in pursuing the matter.
The registry board subpoenaed Cothren in January 2022 in connection with an investigation into the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC, which was accused of illegal coordination with the campaign of state Rep. Todd Warner in his race against incumbent Republican Rep. Rick Tillis, a political foe of Casada. Warner, whose home and office were raided by FBI agents the same day they hit Casada, Cothren and now-former Rep. Robin Smith in January 2021, defeated Tillis in the 2020 Republican primary. Cothren refused to comply with the subpoena.
Warner, who attended the trial several days this month in support of Cothren, is not facing any criminal charges.
The registry’s decision to subpoena Cothren, Casada and several other people came after a former girlfriend of Cothren’s testified that she formed the political action committee at his request so he could run it secretly. She said Cothren, whom she thought she loved at the time, also told her to ignore calls from the registry.
The Registry’s subpoena for Cothren has been on hold pending the outcome of the federal case.
