Is that you, Cade? Read the email to the Registry the PAC’s treasurer says she didn’t write
The treasurer of a PAC that pilloried then-Rep. Rick Tillis (R-Lewisburg) in the 2020 primary says she never did anything beyond register the Faith Family Freedom Fund. Everything else, she testified to the Registry last week, was handled by the man she once thought she was in love with: Cade Cothren.
“He told me that none of this was illegal, that he didn’t do anything illegal, and that it was no big deal to open the political action committee,” said Sydney Friedopfer, a former Vanderbilt student.
“And he said he just couldn’t have a name on it, considering everything he had gone through, which I’m sure everyone’s aware,” she said. “But yeah, he resigned from his position as chief of staff to Glen Casada. And he didn’t want his name on the political action committees.”
Friedopfer, who now lives in Utah, said she was unaware the PAC had a Gmail address and that someone had been corresponding with the Registry under her name.
“That was not me,” Friedopfer said.
An email purporting to be from Friedopfer was sent from a FaithFamilyFreedomTN@gmail.com account on Nov. 2, 2020. It was dismissive of a complaint filed against the PAC for allegedly coordinating its activities with Todd Warner, the Republican challenger who would go on to win the seat.
“It is extremely difficult to follow the rabbit holes of Mr. Hazelwood in this complaint and it seems the majority of his grievances are with other people/organizations,” the email said. “To our knowledge, we have disclosed all information required of our PAC in Tennessee and will certainly continue doing so.”
After offering to answer any further questions, the author signed off: “Thank you again, Sydney.”
The Registry last week voted to subpoena Cothren and others for more information about the PAC.
Warner got another $138K under federal PPP program in January
Freshman state Rep. Todd Warner, the Chapel Hill Republican who had his business and legislative offices searched by the FBI in January, received another $138,435 in federal COVID-19 relief funds later that month. That’s on top of the $149,630 he received in April 2019.
Warner last week denied to The Tennessean that any of the money he received under the the federal Paycheck Protection Program had gone toward funding the $154,100 he loaned his campaign last year. “If I’m charged with it I feel like I’m innocent,” he told the paper.
The federal funds were directed to his contracting company, PCS of TN, which reported employing 16 people.
The candidate’s largesse raised eyebrows during the race because Warner had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a decade earlier due to his inability to pay $20 million in debts. Warner said he obtained the money for his political pursuits via an unrelated bank loan.
Warner defeated incumbent Rep. Rick Tillis of Lewisburg in the August primary.
The FBI also searched the homes and offices of Republican Reps. Glen Casada of Franklin and Robin Smith of Hixson. The Registry of Election Finance informed Warner it was reopening a complaint filed by the Tillis camp against him and an independent expenditure group called the Faith Freedom Family Find.
Casada PAC attacks from 2018 appear to be templates for hit pieces on Tillis
A political action committee that ran attacks last summer against former Rep. Rick Tillis (R-Lewisburg) used the same template as hit pieces issued by the PAC of former House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) two years earlier.
The mailers attacking Tillis were run by a group called the Faith Freedom Family Fund, or FFFF. The ones targeting Jonathan Mason, a Republican candidate running for a Hamilton County House seat in 2018, were sent out by Red Ivory Strategies for Casada’s CAS-PAC. Red Ivory is owned by Michael Lotfi, whom Casada later hired for a no-show job at the General Assembly.
“Lying Rick Tillis will say & do anything to get elected … Don’t let him fool you!” reads an FFFF mailer.
“Lying Jonathan Mason will say & do anything to get elected … Don’t let him fool you!” says a CAS-PAC mailer.
Red Ivory received at least $135,000 from House Republicans in 2020, including $57,750 from the GOP caucus (which isn’t supposed to work against its own members).
The Tennessean has reported that former Casada aide Cade Cothren, who helped run CAS-PAC, also assigned work on behalf of FFFF.
Casada’s preferred candidate in the 2018 primary was Esther Helton of East Ridge, who went on to win the primary and the general election. A mailer from that race carried a Chattanooga postal permit number, 383, that has featured heavily in the Tillis primary.
Permit No. 383 was used in August by Tillis’ opponent Todd Warner, the FFFF PAC, and a campaign vendor called Phoenix Solutions, which has run mailers for a variety of GOP candidates. Rep. Robin Smith (R-Hixson) was a major promoter of Phoenix.
Smith, Casada, and Warner had their homes and offices searched by the FBI earlier this month, which agents also went through Cothren’s apartment.
First House Republicans begin to call for Casada to step down as speaker
House Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) presents school voucher legislation on May 1, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The text messaging scandal surrounding House Speaker Glen Casada is now leading some fellow Republicans to call for him to resign from from his leadership post.
House Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville):
BREAKING: "Yesterday I shared with the speaker that he should step down. I have not directed any member on what their position or action should be." – House No. 2 Bill Dunn on @GlenCasada
— Tyler Whetstone (@tyler_whetstone) May 8, 2019
House Majority Whip Rick Tillis (R-Lewisburg) told The Tennessean’s Emily West that Casada “needs to step down.”
Tillis: He needs to step down. With the circumstances at hand and the developments today, the behavior seems to continue. I am not sure of the procedural rules. The governor could call for a special session. I am not sure.
— Emily R. West (@emwest22) May 8, 2019
Here’s Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby):
The person sitting in the car while the bank is being robbed is just as guilty as bank robber. Racism, objectifying of women, spying, and bullying are all evil. You can not effectively lead and simultaneously be complicit with evil.
— Jeremy Faison (@JeremyFaison4TN) May 8, 2019
Rep. David Hawk (R-Greenville):
Rep. David Hawk shared this email to Speaker: “I suggest that you bow out gracefully and resign. After the way that Cade has treated some members so poorly, you will not be able to lead us with any sense of confidence in your decision-making.” @WKRN
Still your friend,
-David
— Chris Bundgaard (@bundgaard2) May 8, 2019
The Tennessean reports that a caucus conference call with Casada on Wednesday also included some supportive words from members:
Reps. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, and Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, offered their support to the speaker.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, reminded members of the caucus that “the sky is not falling.”
Lamberth added, “This is one of those type things that we just thoughtfully proceed together in whatever direction we need to.”
