Gov. Lee Pushes Back On DAs Who Have Called His Executive Orders Unconstitutional

At least two district attorney generals in Tennessee have questioned the constitutionality of Gov. Bill Lee’s latest executive orders.

But Lee is pushing back.

“Our executive orders have been clear, they’ve been legal, they’ve been constitutional and they’ve been put in place to protect Tennessee citizens,” Lee told reporters Friday in a videoconference. “I’m confident of that. I stand certain of that.”

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Cleveland DA Stephen Crump questioned whether it was constitutional to allow certain places to open and others not to. He said he doesn’t believe people should be prosecuted for “trying to earn a living” doing a job that is legal.

“Nor do I believe that the prosecution of twelve friends eating dinner together in a home in two groups of six should be prosecuted, while if they did the same thing in a restaurant dining room, they would be free of criminal exposure,” Crump said.

Coffee County’s prosecutor said laid out a similar argument in an interview last week.