NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - If there is a conduit to Friday’s raid on the houses and offices of state Republican lawmakers and former staff, it is clearly former Speaker of the House Glenn Casada.
Casada, R-Franklin, has been an influential politician for years and saw both his condo and offices raided by FBI agents.
Casada’s fellow house republicans, Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, and Rep. Todd Warner, R-Lewisburg, also had their legislative offices raided.
People also spotted agents at the downtown home of Cade Cothren, Casada’s former aide.
As for the legislative aides who have been placed on administrative leave, Holt Whitt once worked in Casada’s office. Carol Simpson is Casada’s longtime assistant.
As for legislative aide Nadine Korby, she works in the office of Rep. Kent Calfee, R-Kingston, but is also friends with Cothren on social media.
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said at a Friday news conference that Calfee is not part of the FBI probe.
However, Sexton confirmed that the FBI contacted him some time ago.
“Since becoming Speaker, I was contacted by federal authorities regarding an ongoing investigation related to the former speaker’s office,” Sexton said.
All the lawmakers involved have been involved in Casada’s scandals over the years to varying degrees.
SERIES: House Speaker Glen Casada to step down amid weeks of controversy
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - TN House Speaker Glen Casada, who in recent weeks has been embroiled in controversy over racist and sexist text messages as well as additional allegations of misconduct is stepping down as House Speaker.
Follow updates and past coverage of this story in our Casada series:
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Rep. Bill Sanderson announced that he would be resigning his position on Wednesday.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has asked embattled state Rep. David Byrd not to run for re-election, News4 has learned.
Governor Bill Lee (R-Tennessee) said Saturday he will call a special session of the state legislature to name a replacement for House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin).
House Speaker Glen Casada announced on Tuesday that he would resign as Speaker while Democrats have asked for an investigation into whether he gave "no-show jobs" to special interest groups.
Conversations have begun between Glen Casada and House leadership to set up a timeline for Casada’s resignation as Speaker, legislative officials confirmed on Monday.
Some state lawmakers are frustrated over House Speaker Glen Casada not saying when he's going to step down.
TN House Speaker Glen Casada, who in recent weeks has been embroiled in controversy over racist and sexist text messages as well as additional allegations of misconduct is stepping down as House Speaker.
Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth called for Speaker Glen Casada to resign and Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session after the Republican Caucus issued a no confidence vote.
House Speaker Glen Casada's request for an opinion from the House Ethics Committee is being criticized.
Gov. Bill Lee has said repeatedly he will not intervene in the House Speaker Glen Casada controversy and let the lawmakers make the decision.
Tennessee’s House Majority Leader William Lamberth is addressing the latest allegations against House Speaker Glen Casada.
Following a lengthy meeting Monday afternoon, the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators called for the resignation of House Speaker Glen Casada.
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State House Speaker Glen Casada has requested an advisory opinion from the House Ethics Committee about the actions he took surrounding his ch…
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Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada fielded questions Friday about the allegations against him and the multiple calls for his resignation.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn said it’s up to the state’s Republican Caucus to decide if Speaker Glen Casada should be removed from his leadership position.
A friend and fellow lawmaker from Franklin said House Speaker Glen Casada should resign.
The Office of Legislative Administration confirmed that noise machines were installed this year not only outside, but inside House Speaker Glen Casada’s office.
One of Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada’s former interns tells News4 about her time in the Capitol.
There is a growing number of Republicans who are calling for Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada to resign.
Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada issued a statement on Wednesday taking “complete ownership” of his inappropriate text messages about women exchanged with his former Chief of Staff Cade Cothren and expressing “my sincere disappointment” for the messages Cothren sent to another person that included racial slurs, drug use and other inappropriate comments.
Tennessee Democrats are calling for a federal investigation after hearing that House Speaker Glen Casada’s staff may have been listening to and watching meetings they thought were private.
House Speaker Glen Casada and his Chief of Staff Cade Cothren have responded with a joint statement explaining racist text messages sent between Cothren and a former employee.
When a fake Republican Twitter account criticized Casada and other republicans, Warner took the seat of a lawmaker, later tied to being that account’s creator.
When Casada’s office was scrutinized for pressuring and offering deals for school voucher votes, Smith voted in favor of the bill.
A federal source confirmed that the raid was part of a corruption investigation but would not elaborate on specifics.
David Boling, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said they had no comment at this time.
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