Montana Republican Lawmakers the Latest to Receive Threatening Letters with White Powder

Montana Republican legislators are the latest GOP state officials to be targeted, receiving threatening letters containing white powder after Tennessee and Kansas Republicans received similar suspicious mail in recent days, officials say. 

Meanwhile, four days after the Cordell Hull Building legislative offices in Nashville were locked down upon Republican leaders received threatening mail, an FBI official tells The Tennessee Star that the incident remains under investigation and that the agency has no comment at this time.

Read the full story

Tennessee Legislative Offices Locked Down After ‘White Powder Substance’ Found in GOP Leader Mail, Liberal Activists Suspected

The Cordell Hull Building in Nashville was locked down Thursday following the discovery of a “white powder substance” in mail sent to Republican leaders, in “obvious threats made by a liberal activist,” the House GOP said in a statement. One news outlet is reporting the suspicious mail has the markings of a trans activist. 

Officials say everyone is safe and that there have been no injuries reported. 

Read the full story

Lt. Governor McNally Issues Revised Protocols for Accessing Tennessee’s Senate

Lt. Governor Randy McNally has decided that effective Monday new protocols will go into effect that will allow greater access to the Senate areas within the Cordell Hull Building.

The revised protocols are due to the increased availability of the vaccine and the overall decline in the spread of COVID-19, according to a late-day email Friday from McNally’s chief of staff addressed to Senate members and staff.

Read the full story

FBI Raids Locations Tied to Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, Plus Additional Lawmakers and Staff

The FBI on Friday reportedly raided locations tied to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and Republican allies over allegations of possible public corruption.

Current Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) issued a statement about the raid that took place at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville.

Read the full story

EXCLUSIVE: Cade Cothren Denies Any Listening Devices Planted in Legislative Offices

  Despite recent claims by a handful of legislators, allegations by some news media outlets, and a recent letter from the Tennessee Democratic House Caucus to the U.S. Attorney in Nashville requesting an investigation into “bugs” being planted in the offices of Tennessee legislators, there is no evidence that there is any truth to the stories. Now, the former Chief of Staff for House Speaker Glen Casada, Cade Cothren, specifically denies that any such thing has happened. “I have absolutely not been involved in planting any listening devices in any legislative offices,” Cothren told The Tennessee Star, “nor do I believe it has even happened. I know for a fact that nobody in the Speakers office did any such thing,” Cothren pointed out that there is not a shred of evidence to support the outlandish claims, and that any legitimate investigation will quickly put this particular lie to rest. “The fact that the media is running with a story without any substance or proof demonstrates how the current media feeding frenzy is completely out of control,” Cothren added. Cothren also specifically denied that he listened in on meetings in Legislative committee rooms after Committee Hearings ended. “Not only did I…

Read the full story

House Democrats Pitch Medicaid Expansion on First Day of Tennessee General Assembly’s 2018 Legislative Session

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Tuesday marked the first day of the second half of the 110th General Assembly, and House Democrats followed Minority Leader and Democratic gubernatorial candidate State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley)  in setting the tone for health care through Medicaid expansion. The first day of session is largely “feel good” and procedural in nature, as legislators come back together and move through standard agenda items in accordance with the House Permanent Rules of Order (page 3 – 4), as there is very little substantive business yet underway. A major portion of the session is what is known as “personal orders,” where members are recognized by the speaker to give a short personal message. Those messages are most often related to acknowledging a constituent, family member or other visitor. Fitzhugh, the first House member to be called on, said he wanted to set the tone for this session to health care.  The minority leader also spoke for the “fighting 25″ Democrats who, he said, support the expansion of Medicaid with the changes Governor Haslam will be making. Whether he was making a connection between himself and the governor’s office or pointing out that Medicaid expansion was the program of…

Read the full story

Beautifully Renovated Cordell Hull Building, New Home of The Tennessee General Assembly, Has Design That Potentially Locks Public Out of Committee Hearings

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – As the historic Cordell Hull Building renovations are nearing completion and legislators and staff are moving their offices from the War Memorial Building/Legislative Plaza, so, too, is the public starting to make their way to visit and tour the new home to the Tennessee General Assembly, where they may be surprised to discover new additions that lock the public out of the legislative process. The more than 300,000 square foot 11-story building constructed between 1952 and 1954 in the art deco architectural style, after nearly being demolished, underwent a top to bottom renovation approved in 2015 at a cost of $136 million, as a less expensive alternative to renovating the General Assembly’s four decades long home of the War Memorial Building/Legislative Plaza. Three floors of the Cordell Hull Building are occupied by legislators, with Senators taking up one and Representatives taking up two floors. The speaker of each house has a suite on their respective floor. State administrative offices, including Department of Treasury occupies some of the space. Legislators are now all treated to individual offices, none of them being shared as in their previous location, and all being positioned on an outside wall, allowing for…

Read the full story

Tennessee Capitol to Continue Prohibiting Handguns

The Tennessee Capitol will continue to prohibit handguns despite a new policy at the new home for state lawmakers that will allow permit holders to have them, Gov. Bill Haslam said this week. Haslam told reporters Monday he has no intention of proposing a change in policy at the Capitol, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He earlier had released a statement to that effect. Haslam said he doesn’t want guns at the Capitol because of the numerous tour groups and school children it attracts. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) announced recently that permit holders will be allowed to carry firearms into the renovated Cordell Hull Building. Lawmakers are in the process of moving into their new offices and the building will open to the public next week. Lawmakers had tried to get guns allowed at Legislative Plaza, which they are leaving for the Cordell Hull Building. But their attempts failed because of the Haslam administration’s concerns about logistics for security at Legislative Plaza and the desire for it to have the same policy as the Capitol. The legislature last year passed a law giving it oversight of its building, paving the way for a change at…

Read the full story

Permit Holders Allowed to Carry Firearms in New Tennessee Legislative Building

Carry permit holders will be allowed to bring their firearms into the new home of the Tennessee state legislature, according to a joint statement issued this week by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville). Lawmakers have started relocating to the renovated Cordell Hull Building from the War Memorial Building and Legislative Plaza. The Cordell Hull Building will open to the public Nov. 15. “Tennessee carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding demographics in our state,” the statement said. The new policy requires permit holders to present their permit at security and undergo a thorough screening that will determine the permit’s validity. Once that is verified, a permit holder will get the green light to carry on the premises. To receive a permit, people must be fingerprinted, submit to a background check and get firearms training.

Read the full story