Photo Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
By Sam Stockard [The Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
The federal government’s chief witness in Tennessee’s political corruption trial sparred Wednesday with a defense attorney, repeatedly saying she had to lie and conceal the identity of the person running a shadowy company that handled constituent mailers for lawmakers in early 2020.
Under questioning from Cynthia Sherwood, the attorney for defendant Cade Cothren, a former staffer who secretly ran New Mexico-based Phoenix Solutions, former Rep. Robin Smith said she testified “in error” previously when she said she was unaware of committing a crime when they were running the secret company.
Yet she also said at one point, “I was very well aware of lying and doubling down and concealing” the roles of Cothren and former House Speaker Glen Casada in the business scheme. Smith also said she pressured the state’s director of legislative administration to expedite payments to the company when they hit a delay.
Smith, who resigned from her legislative seat and signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, is charged with one count of honest services fraud in connection with a fraud and kickback scheme she allegedly ran with former House Speaker Glen Casada and his ex-chief of staff, Cothren. According to testimony, they had to conceal Cothren’s role in running Phoenix Solutions after he resigned the post amid a racist and sexist texting scandal in April 2019. Casada stepped down from the House speaker’s post in August because of a no-confidence vote by the House Republican Caucus.
Casada and Cothren, in contrast, face 20 charges ranging from theft to fraud and honest services fraud.
Asked by Sherwood if she understood the elements of honest services fraud, Smith responded it meant she told numerous lies to keep the invalid vendor in operation. The trio grossed nearly $52,000 from work on Republican lawmakers’ constituent mailers, which are paid for through the state’s postage and printing program.
Apparently put off by Smith’s continual expounding on answers, Sherwood said, “A lot’s on the line for you today.”
Smith responded, “There’s a lot on the line for everybody.”
Sherwood then reminded her the jury already heard that Cothren hid his identity.
Under questioning, Smith also said she talked with her attorney, Ben Rose, since taking the stand Monday and had met with U.S. attorneys at least six times since her home and office were raided in January 2021.
Sherwood asked her to describe the discussions she had with Rose, eliciting laughter from the courtroom. U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson advised Smith that attorney-client talk is private, yet she still tried to give explanations to yes-or-no questions.
Sherwood told the judge she might request later that Smith waive her attorney-client privilege because of her answers.
Smith described the morning FBI agents came to her home in early 2021, saying she went to the door in her sweat pants while holding back her dog. She said she chatted with them until they gave her the chance to call her attorney. She said she left a message and resumed the conversation until her attorney told her not to talk anymore.
Smith said she welcomed the FBI into her home but “tried to withhold as much as a talkative person like myself can.” Early in Wednesday’s testimony in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Sherwood displayed several mail pieces produced by Phoenix Solutions and asked Smith if she thought the work was good. She agreed it was.
Smith said when federal agents came to her home on Jan. 8, 2021, she was “stunned” and wasn’t certain what was happening.
