District Attorney Bill Cox says he will step aside from any criminal investigation of City Attorney Mike McMahan because of a longstanding friendship.
“I felt it would be more appropriate,” Mr. Cox said Friday.
He said he and Mr. McMahan are longtime friends, attending church together for more than 30 years.
The decision comes after Mr. Cox’s office received a report from the state comptroller’s office two weeks ago, stating the city attorney’s office might have been engaged in illegal activities.
Mr. Cox said he called the Tennessee District Attorney’s Conference and asked if that organization could find another district attorney to review the case.
The comptroller’s report stated an arrangement — which has been in effect for the last 45 years — in which the city attorney has run a private practice while also operating as a government official is illegal. The comptroller’s report also stated Mr. McMahan knowingly and illegally billed more than $15,000 a month from the city for secretarial services.
The report also criticized the city for paying 80 percent of the law firm’s rent at the Pioneer Bank building and offering fully paid health insurance for the attorney office’s employees, most of whom were not city workers.
City officials have said the violations are a moot point because the city attorney’s office has since been moved into a government building and staff are now on the city’s payroll.
Wally Kirby, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorney’s Conference, said Friday that he has sent a request to other district attorneys’ offices to review the case. He said he has not gotten any responses yet but hopes to have someone following up this week.
He said he did not know how long the review would take.
“Sometimes you can get it done in a day; sometimes it takes three or four weeks,” he said.
He said Mr. Cox’s decision not to look at the case is wise, considering his friendship with Mr. McMahan.
“I don’t think there’s a question about that,” he said.
Mr. McMahan said Friday he and Mr. Cox are friends and said he expected him not to review the case. He said he is not concerned about a separate, independent attorney looking at the matter.
“I don’t think it’s going to make a difference,” he said. “The facts are the facts.”
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
Or login with:
New Account