Sources Say Recruitment Effort Underway to Persuade Former Bill Lee Chief Counsel Lang Wiseman to Apply for Attorney General Vacancy

Several sources familiar with the on goings at the Tennessee Capitol told The Tennessee Star that a recruitment effort has started in an attempt to persuade former Deputy to the Governor and Chief Counsel Lang Wiseman to seek the position of attorney general. This development comes in the wake of news regarding Governor Bill Lee’s Chief Operating Officer Brandon Gibson, who is making it known that her interest in applying for the attorney general job has waned.

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Gulbransen Joins Host Leahy to Talk Tennessee AG Selection Process and Call for Governor Lee’s Pick, Gibson to State Her Case

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio to talk about the AG selection in the state of Tennessee and the unanswered calls for comment by Governor Lee’s alleged pick for new AG, Brandon Gibson. Leahy and Gulbransen later called for Gibson to come on the show and state her case.

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Sources Say Bill Lee’s COO Brandon Gibson Now Unlikely to Pursue Attorney General Position Due to Negative Reaction

Sources familiar with the political intrigue around the Tennessee Capitol tell The Tennessee Star that Governor Bill Lee’s preferred for choice for Attorney General, Tennessee COO Brandon Gibson, is letting it be known that she’s “now unlikely to even to apply for job.”

“It appears as though – based on how she is presenting this around, that the reception she received when news of her taking over the job was broken and became a topic of public discussion – it has taken the shine off of Gibson wanting to be Tennessee Attorney General and to deal with the legislature and she is no longer sure she wants the job,” said one source on the condition of background.

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Tennessee Supreme Court Yet to Announce Process of Selecting Next Attorney General

Tennessee Star - Constitution Series

The Tennessee Supreme Court, which is the body that appoints the state’s attorney general, has yet to announce an official process in the search to replace Attorney General Herbert Slatery who leaves office at the end of August.

The process is expected to be conducted in a similar manner as the one that yielded Slatery. He has served as Tennessee’s attorney general since 2014 and not seeking an additional eight-year term.

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Tennessee COO and Potential Attorney General Brandon Gibson Refuses to Offer Support for National Guardsmen

Brandon Gibson, the rumored frontrunner to succeed Attorney General Slatery, Governor Bill Lee’s Chief Operating Officer for the state of Tennessee, refused to comment when The Tennessee Star asked her to comment on the pending firings of many National Guardsmen due to their refusal to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The Star reached out to Gibson on Monday morning.

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Sources Say Gov. Lee Believes His Pick for Attorney General, Brandon Gibson, Already a Done Deal with Tennessee Supreme Court

Sources familiar with the thinking of Governor Bill Lee and his team tell The Tennessee Star that Governor Lee believes that “it is already a done deal” that his preferred choice for attorney general, Brandon Gibson, will get the appointment.

The sources spoke with The Star on background and one said, “It is very well thought by Governor Lee’s team and highest corners of office in the executive branch that the open Attorney General seat is a lock to go to Brandon Gibson.”

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OFF THE RECORD: Latest Lee Cabinet Appointment Continues His Refusal to Select Actual Conservatives

The Bill Lee Transition team announced another appointment with the creation of a new position to focus on criminal justice reform and rural initiatives. Brandon Gibson, from Crockett County in West Tennessee, will serve as a Cabinet Level Senior Advisor to Governor Bill Lee. She is currently a Court of Appeals Judge in the Western Division, the sole woman on that panel of judges. Her selection will leave the Western Division as a completely male domain. She is a 1996 graduate of Mississippi State University with a BS in Agribusiness, received a Masters in Agribusiness Management from Mississippi State in 1997 and graduated from SMU law school in Dallas, Texas in 2000. After a brief stint with a law firm in Texas she moved to Jackson, Tennessee and practiced law until appointed by Governor Bill Haslam to serve on the Court of Appeals in September 2014. She recently participated in Leadership Tennessee, and now serves on its Advisory Council — with former Haslam Chief of Staff Mark Cate — whose wife is the executive director of the group. While the release announcing her appointment touts her as a “principled conservative” there seems to be scant evidence of any conservative political…

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Governor-Elect Lee Appoints Judge Brandon Gibson as Senior Advisor

Tennessee Governor-Elect Bill Lee announced his appointment Wednesday of Court of Appeals Judge Brandon Gibson to serve as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Governor, a cabinet-level position. “Brandon is a principled conservative with deep rural roots in our state,” Lee said in a statement. “She is widely respected for her service on the Court of Appeals and I am honored that she will continue her commitment to public service in this administration.” Lee has drawn sharp criticism from some for the lack of conservatives in positions of authority in his administration. The Tennessee Star has pointed out that perhaps the only other conservative so far, Courtney Rogers, has limited authority as Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill recently told Fox 17 News that while Rogers was a good appointment, the “power positions” are the chief of staff (which went to an out-of-stater), the chief of operations (a Democrat) and the finance commissioner (a Democrat). There are also a lot of holdovers from Gov. Bill Haslam’s staff, none of whom support President Donald Trump or will hire conservatives, Gill said. Lee’s newest appointment, Gibson, of Crockett County, serves as a judge on the Tennessee Court…

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