State Rep. Brandon Ogles, days after threatening a "deep dive" into the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, says he is drafting legislation that could change the board's subpoena power.
Ogles, a Franklin Republican, took a step back from incendiary comments he made last week at a Williamson Inc. legislative gathering but said he wants to look at subpoena authority across the state's boards to make sure they are "transparent."
In fact, he told the Tennessee Lookout his plans have nothing to do with the Registry of Election Finance, which voted recently to subpoena former House Speaker Glen Casada; his ex-chief of staff, Cade Cothren; and several other people to gather information about the Faith Family Freedom Fund, a political action committee that ran attack ads on Casada's political enemy, former Rep. Rick Tillis of Maury County.
Still, Ogles, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, said, "There's a line of communication and an invitation is granted that's a professional courtesy in most fields, without issuing a subpoena ... anything that says you're gonna be at a certain place and time without voluntarily complying is somewhat hostile."
The subpoenas stem from testimony by an ex-girlfriend of Cothren's, Sydney Friedopfer, who told the registry board at its latest meeting that Cothren persuaded her to register the PAC, then took over operations. She testified she didn't send several emails the registry received from the PAC and didn't realize the PAC spent money, even though she signed her name as treasurer.
The registry regulates matters such as disclosure requirements and campaign contribution limits and can issue civil fines.
The Tennessee Journal reported Casada and Ogles took exception to the subpoenas, with Casada saying at the Williamson Inc. gathering that he felt "like a kid sitting on the side of the road, and someone's just come and punched me in the nose for no reason."
In his comments, Ogles predicted "ramifications" for the subpoenas.
"And to issue subpoenas that have weight, or credit, or value – and are not signed by a judge – circumvents every judiciary process we have in this state, both criminally and civilly," he said.
Ogles said this week he would like to see requirements for a judge's signature on subpoenas issued by the registry board in addition to invitations before subpoenas are issued. In this case, the registry board issued subpoenas requiring people to testify and to produce any and all information they have on the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC.
Ogles called it a "professional courtesy" to invite someone to speak before the board. Board members, though, pointed out during the latest registry meeting they were trying to gather information, not accuse anyone of wrongdoing, in order to determine their next step in an investigation of the PAC.
At the Williamson Inc. event, Ogles said the Judiciary Committee is "going to deep dive into this, this threat to subpoena people."
Apparently, he was irritated by comments made by registry board member Hank Fincher, who said he believes Cothren will "go underground," and if he doesn't show up to testify, the board will take action to have him arrested and brought in by the sheriff's office. Fincher, a Cookeville attorney and former House member, said people act differently when they're wearing "orange," referring to the jumpsuits worn by jail inmates.
Responding to comments from Ogles and Casada, Fincher wrote a Facebook statement pointing out he has served on the registry board for 20 years without pay and has seen it handled in a bipartisan manner during that time.
"At our last meeting, we heard testimony that someone had tricked a woman into serving as a fake treasurer for a political action committee. As is our power and duty under the law (TCA 2-10-207 to be precise), we issued a subpoena for the person who she said procured her signature and his boss," he said.
Asked what might happen if someone doesn't respond to the subpoena, Fincher described the process, which includes two hearings and then an attachment for an arrest.
"It has apparently caused quite a kerfuffle among some of the people allied with the witness, with a sitting member of the legislature actually questioning the registry's long-standing right to issue subpoenas and investigate campaign finance violations, and making thinly veiled threats of retaliation for daring to do our job," he said in the statement. "Must've hit a nerve."
He added, "Sometimes doing the right thing makes people mad."
Cothren did not respond to text messages seeking comment.
Casada, who hired Cothren to be his chief of staff and paid him a $199,000 salary, denied any knowledge of the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC during the Williamson Inc. event and then reiterated that to the Tennessee Lookout.
"I didn't even know it existed until the subpoena came through," he said in a Tuesday text message. "So I'm being redundant. I have no answer for the questions related to the [PAC] as I [am] not even familiar with it."
Nevertheless, Casada said he is "definitely" showing up to discuss this "unusual action" by the registry board.
In addition to Casada and Cothren, the registry board subpoenaed state Rep. Todd Warner, whose campaign paid tens of thousands of dollars to Alabama-based Dixieland Strategies, a new vendor in the 2020 election.
Both entities used the same Hamilton County postal code, 383, as Phoenix Solutions, yet another new 2020 vendor, which made tens of thousands of dollars off the House Republican Caucus and several members for re-election work. It vanished when reporters started asking questions.
FBI agents last year searched the homes and offices of some of those involved in the GOP use of the vendors, including Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, a political consultant.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.