President Trump pardoned former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his ex-chief of staff, Cade Cothren, who were convicted on federal corruption charges.
Mr. Casada, a Republican, was sentenced in September to 36 months in prison after being convicted on 17 charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Mr. Cothern received a shorter sentence.
A White House official confirmed the pardons, saying President Biden’s Justice Department “overprosecuted” both officials for a minor issue involving constituent mailers.
The official said the “Biden DOJ responded with an armed raid, perp walk, and suggested sentences exceeding 10 years — penalties normally reserved for multimillion dollar fraudsters.”
In a statement to a Nashville TV station, Mr. Casada said he was “grateful” for Mr. Trump’s “full confidence in my innocence through this whole ordeal.”
The investigation into Mr. Casada and Mr. Cothern began under Mr. Trump’s first term, and the raids of their homes occurred in January 2021, when Mr. Trump was still in the White House. The judge who oversaw the case and handed down the sentences was appointed by Mr. Trump during his first term.
Prosecutors accused the two of using a consulting firm they founded to illegally funnel money to themselves for campaign and taxpayer-funded work, including organizing a $52,000 mailer program for Tennessee lawmakers. Mr. Casada allegedly used a false name, Matthew Phoenix, to run the company.
The White House official on Friday said the consulting firm billed at competitive prices, never received a complaint from legislators and resulted in a loss of $5,000.
Several years before Mr. Casada was charged, he served as House speaker in the Tennessee Legislature but resigned after a no-confidence vote by his fellow lawmakers. The vote was in response to a scandal in which he exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women with Mr. Cothren years ago.
Mr. Casada apologized for the texts.
Mr. Trump has been on a clemency spree in recent weeks.
Last month, he commuted the sentence of former GOP Rep. George Santos of New York, who was convicted on wire fraud and identity theft charges.
He also pardoned Changpeng Zhao, who co-founded one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and was convicted under the Biden administration on charges related to money laundering.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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