Who’s who in the criminal trial of a former Tennessee House speaker and his onetime top aide

The former Tennessee House speaker and his onetime chief of staff are facing a federal criminal trial this week, where some old colleagues will be less friendly on the witness stand than others.

The trial of former Republican Rep. Glen Casada and his former aide, Cade Cothren, promises to include testimony from current and former lawmakers and staffers, some for the government, others for the defense. Jury selection begins Tuesday and the trial could take weeks.

The case accuses the two of running a political mailing group that House Republicans hired with taxpayer money without knowing Cothren was behind the firm. Casada and Cothren hid Cothren’s involvement to land the business after the two had been pressured out of their leadership roles in a preceding political scandal, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Cothren created an alter ego to run the company — Matthew Phoenix, of Phoenix Solutions.

The two face a 20-count indictment for charges including bribery, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in prison. After multiple delays, the trial comes three years after they were charged and almost six years after they resigned from their top statehouse posts.

Federal prosecutors plan to call about 15 witnesses, including House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Sexton, who succeeded Casada, helped federal authorities in their investigation and is expected to testify. So is former Rep. Robin Smith, who took a plea deal in the scheme. Some lawmakers have been subpoenaed for the defense, according to news reports.

Attorneys for Casada and Cothren have said that lawmakers got the political services they paid for, so the secrecy about the firm’s ownership isn’t a crime.

Glen Casada and Cade Cothren, defendants

Casada, a Republican from Williamson County south of Nashville, became House speaker in January 2019. Cothren rose through the legislative staff ranks to become his chief of staff.

Casada notably left the voting board open during a key vote to pass a school voucher program, waiting until one vote flipped so the bill would pass. The discussions to try to convince lawmakers to switch to “yes” created wide speculation about what was promised.

Casada resigned from the top leadership post in August 2019 after a no-confidence vote from fellow House Republicans due to swirling scandals, including revelations he exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women years ago with Cothren. Not long before that, Cothren also left his post over those texts and racist texts, coupled with an admission he used cocaine inside a legislative office building when he held a previous job.

In January 2021, FBI agents searched the homes, legislative offices or both of Casada, Cothren, Smith and other statehouse figures. Casada remained a state representative until 2022, when he didn’t seek reelection.

Casada and Cothren were indicted in August 2022, a few months after Smith pleaded guilty.

The charging documents say Cothren launched Phoenix Solutions with Smith’s and Casada’s “knowledge and support” to offer mail and consulting services to lawmakers. Cothren registered the company in New Mexico because the state allows anonymous registration of LLCs, and rebuffed requests for in-person meetings with Casada’s fellow lawmakers, saying the company representatives were out of state, prosecutors allege.

All three claimed the firm was run by a “Matthew Phoenix,” as Phoenix Solutions and companies controlled by Casada and Smith received roughly $52,000 in 2020 from the state in payments associated with the taxpayer funded mailer program for lawmakers, the indictment says.

Robin Smith, witness under plea deal

Smith resigned and pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge in the Phoenix Solutions scheme in March 2022. Smith, who had served as a Republican House member from Hixson since 2018, “will testify about her unlawful agreement” with Casada and Cothren, prosecutors said. She will be sentenced after the trial.

Smith told multiple Republican lawmakers in 2020 that “Matthew Phoenix and his associate, Candice, got tired of living in the Washington, D.C. area and decided to move back home to New Mexico, where Phoenix started Phoenix Solutions,” prosecutors wrote. Candice was portrayed by Casada’s then-girlfriend, they said.

Cothren paid Casada and Smith more than $35,000 in bribes and kickbacks, the indictment says. Prosecutors have text messages between Smith and Cothren about his use of the Matthew Phoenix alias.

Cameron Sexton, witness

Sexton has said he has assisted federal authorities in the investigation since becoming speaker in 2019. Sexton was among the lawmakers and staffers who testified to the grand jury. Prosecutors say he will testify at trial about the requirements of the postage and printing allowance of $3,000 per House lawmaker.

Cothren’s attorneys have claimed that he helped Sexton in multiple ways after Cothren resigned, including in Sexton’s 2019 bid for speaker, an attempt to undermine the premise that House Republicans opposed using Cothren’s services due to his prior scandals. The judge approved subpoenas for Sexton’s phone records related to the claim.