Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Wednesday said the recent request for an investigation over his posts on social media would neither “intimidate” nor “influence” him against his plan to file a resolution in order to oust Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.
Taylor released his statement after a request for an investigation was submitted to the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) by District 28 Attorney General Fred Agee, who Tennessee Lookout reported asked both agencies whether Taylor committed a Class B misdemeanor in his posts.
According to the outlet, Taylor (pictured above, right) posted to the social media platform X links containing details of a plea agreement between Mulroy’s office and Brewston Lamtone Cole, a criminal previously convicted of drunk driving, firearms, and drug charges, who saw his sentence suspended by the district attorney.
The state senator reportedly failed to redact sensitive information about Cole during his initial release of these documents, including his birth date and social security, but later deleted the copies that apparently contained the sensitive information and replaced them with redacted versions.
“If Agee and Mulroy think this will intimidate me and influence my efforts to remove our DA, they are sadly mistaken,” said Taylor in a statement posted to the social media platform X. “I do not intimidate easily, especially by two DAs who are as weak as OJ Simpson’s alibi.”
If Agee and Mulroy think this will intimidate me and influence my efforts to remove our DA, they are sadly mistaken. I do not intimidate easily, especially by two DAs who are as weak as OJ Simpson’s alibi. I am certainly not afraid of any jail time when it comes to these two… pic.twitter.com/mQVraM9tLH
— Senator Brent Taylor (@SenBrentTaylor) August 28, 2024
Taylor said he “quickly replaced it with a newly redacted document out of an abundance of caution despite the document being widely shared by others.”
The state senator later called the requests to investigate an example of “lawfare,” or using the court system against a political opponent.
He stated, “this silly effort by soft-on-crime DA Agee is right out of the Soros-DA funded playbook. When someone stands up to a soft-on-crime DA and demand they do their job, they engage in lawfare.”
In Tennessee, a Class B misdemeanor can result in up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.
Taylor previously said he would file a resolution calling for Mulroy (pictured above, left) to be ousted after the district attorney proposed a program that would offer legal diversions for criminals caught in possession of a firearm.
Despite Mulroy abandoning this plan when faced with public opposition, the proposal was only dropped after the state senator raised the possibility of removing the district attorney, and Taylor has promised to move forward.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Brent Taylor” by Brent Taylor. Photo “Steve Mulroy” by Steve Mulroy. Photo “Shelby County District Attorney’s Office” by Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
