Trump Grants Controversial Pardons to Tennessee Politicians
Former President Donald Trump has issued pardons to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his one-time chief of staff Cade Cothren, overturning their public corruption convictions in a case the White House described as significantly over-prosecuted.
The pardons continue a pattern of Trump using his executive clemency power to benefit political allies and public figures convicted of defrauding taxpayers.
The Tennessee Mail Scheme Controversy
According to federal prosecutors, the case centered on a scheme where Cothren established a company called Phoenix Solutions with the knowledge and support of Casada and then-Representative Robin Smith. The three politicians claimed the company was operated by a fictional person named Matthew Phoenix.
The elaborate deception included having Casada's then-girlfriend pose as an associate of the fictitious Matthew Phoenix, and even featured a forged signature on IRS tax documents. Through this scheme, companies controlled by Casada and Smith received approximately $52,000 in taxpayer money in 2020 from a mailer program designed for lawmakers.
Both Casada and Cothren had already been driven from their leadership positions before the mail scheme came to light. Casada resigned as speaker in 2019 following a no-confidence vote by fellow Republicans amid multiple scandals, including revelations that he had exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women with Cothren years earlier.
Cothren had also left his post over those same text exchanges, which included racist content, coupled with his admission that he had used cocaine inside a legislative office building during a previous job.
White House Justifies Pardons
A White House official speaking on background defended the pardons, stating that Trump approved them because the Biden administration Justice Department had significantly over-prosecuted these individuals for a minor issue.
The official argued that the case involved constituent mailers billed at competitive prices and noted that prosecutors had not received any complaints from legislators about the program. According to the White House, the scheme resulted in a net profit loss of less than $5,000, yet featured an armed raid, perp walk, and potential for lengthy prison terms typically reserved for multi-million dollar fraud cases.
In September, Casada had been sentenced to three years in prison, while Cothren received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for their roles in the scheme.
Pattern of Controversial Clemency
These latest pardons follow Trump's previous clemency grants to other prominent political figures, including Democratic former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Republican ex-Connecticut Governor John Rowland, whose political careers were derailed by corruption scandals.
Trump also pardoned former U.S. Representative Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress after a tax fraud conviction and made headlines for threatening to throw a reporter off a Capitol balcony. Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, convicted of cheating banks and evading taxes, also received pardons.
Critics argue these moves represent part of a broader Trump administration effort to erode public integrity safeguards, including the firing of the Justice Department's pardon attorney and the near-dismantling of a prosecution unit established to hold public officials accountable for abusing public trust.
