Former Republican Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey has filed a new motion to withdraw his guilty plea regarding charges stemming from his federal campaign finance case, court documents show.
In filing to withdraw his guilty plea, Kelsey argued that he “entered into this plea agreement hastily and with an unsure heart due in large part to the stress of simultaneously dealing with a terminally ill father, newborn twins, and a three-year-old daughter.”
Kelsey also argued his “inexperience with the criminal justice system” contributed to his guilty plea agreement, which he further argued “does not amount to a crime.”
In October 2021, a federal grand jury in Nashville indicted Kelsey on a five-count indictment charging him and another man with violating multiple campaign finance laws. As part of a conspiracy to benefit Kelsey’s 2016 campaign for Congress, prosecutors said Kelsey and Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith allegedly violated multiple campaign finance laws.
Smith pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the solicitation, receipt, direction, transfer, and spending of soft money in connection with a federal election. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Kelsey originally maintained his innocence and claimed he was the target of a political witch hunt, however, changed his original not-guilty plea in October of last year. At that time, Kelsey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the FEC and aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions on behalf of a federal campaign.
If his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea is dismissed, Kelsey is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count.
In March 2022, Kelsey announced that he would not run for re-election, as reported by The Tennessee Star. Kelsey also lost his law firm job and law license due to the indictment against him.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Brian Kelsey” by Brian Kelsey. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Carol M. Highsmith.
