Cade Cothren, ex-chief of staff to former House Speaker Glen Casada, leaving Nashville’s federal courthouse in 2022. (Photo: Holly McCall)
Former House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff are jointly backing a motion to compel the disclosure of confidential sources in a federal corruption case against the pair.
Casada and Cade Cothren filed a reply Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee after federal prosecutors denied on March 4 their earlier motion to compel the identification of sources.
Government attorneys have said they will not disclose the identity of people who secretly gathered information against the pair, thus keeping Casada and Cothren from putting them on the stand.
Court filing: Sexton likely wore a wire for federal investigators
Through his attorneys, Cothren has implied that current House Speaker Cameron Sexton — or someone in his office — wore a wire to gather information for the government.
Tuesday’s filing states that “this case would not exist without those informants.”
“Here, the informants voluntarily secured hours of secret recordings and provided in-depth documents and details of internal communications and political caucus meetings, all of which form the foundation of the government’s case.”
Sexton is among 20 lawmakers who received subpoenas earlier this year from defense lawyers. He has confirmed he is cooperating with federal prosecutors.
The case centers around kickbacks Casada and Cothren allegedly received after creating a secret political consulting business called “Phoenix Solutions,” which came following Casada’s resignation as House Speaker in 2020 after a no-confidence vote from members of the House Republican Caucus.
Trial for the two is set to begin April 4.