What's Going On In Tennessee? - 01/08/21
FBI searching offices, homes of Tennessee Republican lawmakers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Federal agents searched the offices and homes of several Republican Tennessee lawmakers early Friday morning.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation were at the Cordell Hull building in downtown Nashville, where they were seen searching offices, including that of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada. The office of Representative Kent Calfee, a Republican from East Tennessee, was also searched.
A source told News 2 the FBI also searched Casada’s residence early Friday morning, as well as the homes of several other Republican lawmakers.
Casada resigned from his leadership role in Aug. 2019 amid a scandal involving racist and sexist text messages. The resignation came months after his colleagues in the State House voted “no confidence” in his leadership.
“I’ve spoken with Speaker Sexton this morning and I’m aware of the FBI raids,” Governor Bill Lee said when asked about the situation during an unrelated news briefing. “It’s certainly very concerning. I know very little about that. There’s been no FBI outreach to us, but I have confidence that Speaker Sexton’s on top of the situation and we’ll learn more as this unfolds.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Middle Tennessee has not released any further information about the nature of the searches.
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