NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada’s case takes a turn before trial as a memorandum has called for the disclosure of confidential sources associated with the government’s investigation into his allegedly fraudulent scheme.
According to a 2022 indictment, beginning in and around October 2019, Casada and his former Chief of Staff Cade Cothren engaged in a fraudulent scheme to enrich themselves by exploiting Casada and the other conspirator’s official positions as legislators to obtain State approval of Phoenix Solutions as a mailer program vendor to provide constituent mail services to members of the Tennessee General Assembly.
A memorandum filed in the U.S. District court for the Middle District of Tennessee Nashville division Monday by the legal team for Casada and Cothren and obtained by News 2 argued the indictment and investigation into Casada “was spawned and made possible” by several confidential sources.
The memorandum seeks to compel the disclosure of the identities of these confidential sources, adding that the identities were not previously disclosed because the government did not intend to call any source to testify at trial. However, the legal team for Casada and Cothren said “the interests of justice will weigh in favor of compelling the pre-trial disclosure” of the sources’ identities.
“The government cannot shield these witnesses’ identities by opting not to call them as witnesses, however,” the memorandum reads, in part.
The memorandum suggested one of the confidential informants — called Confidential Human Source 1 (CSH1) in the filing — played a “material role in the government’s investigation.” The document said CHS1 informed the FBI of an “alleged ‘scheme'” involving Phoenix Solutions and had knowledge about the funds at issue in this case.
In a footnote, the memorandum said CHS1 was allegedly “wearing a wire and recording conversations at a Tennessee House Republican Caucus Campaign Committee.” The memorandum also suggested CHS1 could be Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton “or someone working in the Speaker’s office.” News 2 has reached out to Sexton’s office for comment, but as of publication, there has been no response.
Additionally, other confidential sources were listed in the memorandum, including two with knowledge of communications about Phoenix Solutions and “unnumbered” other sources who provided recordings to the government during their investigation.
“The government’s justification for protecting its sources difficult to imagine — there is no reason to believe these sources would be placed in danger by disclosure, nor any reason to believe that they are participating in additional undercover activities,” the filing reads, in part.
The case is set to go to trial in April.
