Tag: Phil Williams

Chief Judge Silent on Apparent Leak of Sealed Info About FBI Search Warrant for Rep. Andy Ogles

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles

Chief District Judge William Campbell, who oversees the Middle District of Tennessee for the U.S. District Court, did not respond to a Thursday inquiry from The Tennessee Star that sought information about the apparent leak of information related to the FBI search warrant executed on Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).

Ogles confirmed on Tuesday the FBI executed a search warrant at his Maury County, Tennessee home to obtain his personal cell phone last Friday, less than 24 hours after he won the Tennessee Republican primary in a victory over his Never Trump-backed opponent.

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NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams Responds with Deceptive Distractions When Confronted Over His Journalistic Failures to Get Justin Jones on the Record Over 2020 Claim

Kaitlin Housler
Phil Williams Justin Jones

NewsChannel 5’s chief investigative reporter Phil Williams continues to be criticized for his “journalistic failures” as he dodged an opportunity to confront State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) on his alleged coverup of a 2020 assault of two protesters by a homeless man.

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NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams Refuses to Explain His Failure to Get Justin Jones on the Record about Allegations He Covered Up Report of 2020 Sexual Assault, Tries to Distract with False Claims About Tennessee Star Reporter

Kaitlin Housler
Phil Williams

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, addressed personal attacks from NewsChannel 5’s chief investigative reporter Phil Williams over the weekend, saying such attacks are “absolute silliness” and a common tactic used by Williams when pressed on his “journalistic failings.”

On Sunday, Pappert reported on an interview between Williams and Dan Mandis, host of Nashville’s Morning News with Dan Mandis on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, where Williams said that he once asked Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) to respond to claims made by his former close colleague Jeneisha Harris on June 18, 2020 that the state lawmaker had covered up the sexual assault of two protesters by a homeless man.

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Phil Williams Says He Asked Justin Jones to Respond to Allegations He Covered Up Knowledge of Sexual Assaults, But ‘He Chose Not to Comment’

Tom Pappert
Dan Mandis and Phil Williams, WTN

Phil Williams of NewsChannel 5 failed to report the response he received from Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) to the claim the lawmaker covered up the sexual assault of two protesters by a homeless man in 2020.

Williams revealed in a Friday interview with SuperTalk 99.7 WTN that Jones declined to comment on the claim in 2020. Williams additionally confirmed that other activists planned to confront the homeless man for his alleged sex crimes instead of involving police.

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Tennessee State Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson Joined Protesters Confronting Troopers at Capitol

Tom Pappert
Pearson and Jones Police

Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) joined protesters engaged in a sit-in at the Tennessee Capitol after being removed from the House gallery and urged troopers not to make arrests.

Jones and Pearson reportedly “intervened” by stepping between protesters and troopers, according to NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams, who was apparently feet away from the Democrats during what he described as a “sit-in.”

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Texas Republican Mike Olcott Corrects the Record After NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams Falsely Claims His Vanquished Opponent, Glenn Rogers, Is a Conservative

Kaitlin Housler
Olcott Phil Williams

Mike Olcott, a Republican who won last month’s primary election for Texas House District 60, invalidated News Channel 5’s Phil Williams’ claims that his opponent he defeated in the race, State Representative Glenn Rogers, was defeated by “billionaire” pro-school voucher “forces.”

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Reporter Tom Pappert: NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams ‘Ought to be Embarrassed’ for Illegitimate Responses to Questions Surrounding Legality of Recorded Phone Call in Anti-School Choice Hit Piece

Kaitlin Housler
NewsChannel 5's Phil Williams

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said News Channel 5’s Phil Williams “ought to be embarrassed” as the investigative journalist continues to provide illegitimate responses to inquiries surrounding the legality of a recorded phone call the network aired during last Monday’s 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece.

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NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams Claims Elite Progressives’ Meddling in Tennessee Unworthy of Reporting, Fails to Mention Bloomberg Funding in Nashville and Memphis

Tom Pappert
Newscaster Phil Williams

Phil Williams, the NewsChannel 5 reporter known for his criticism of the effort by Governor Bill Lee to expand school choice in Tennessee, claimed on Friday that meddling by rich progressives in state politics is unworthy of his reporting because Republicans have a majority in the General Assembly.

Williams failed to acknowledge the recent funding of Nashville and Memphis by Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities, a climate change initiative backed by former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.

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Phil Williams and NewsChannel 5 Refuse to Answer Questions About Legality of Recorded Phone Call Broadcast in Anti-School Choice Report

Matthew Giffin
NewsChannel5 news Director Sandy Boonstra and reporter Phil Williams

NewsChannel 5 and investigative journalist Phil Williams have so far refused to answer questions about the suspicious origin of a phone call recording Williams obtained and broadcast in a Monday report attacking a school choice advocacy group.

The recording captured a phone conversation between Executive Director Tori Venable of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee and State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), who currently opposes Governor Bill Lee’s pending school choice legislation.

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Phil Williams’ Use of Phone Call Recorded by ‘Someone in the Room’ Not a Party to the Call in NewsChannel 5 Report Raises Questions About His Journalistic Credibility

Kaitlin Housler
Phil Williams, Todd Warner, Tori Venable

Matthew Giffin, a reporter for The Tennessee Star, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Star, questioned the legality of News Channel 5’s airing of a so-called secret recording of a call between Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) and Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) State Director Tori Venable.

On Monday, the news outlet ran investigative reporter Phil Williams’ 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece focused on AFP-TN’s push for state lawmakers to advance the governor’s bill.

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WTN’s Matt Murphy Calls Out State Rep. Todd Warner for Claim He Did Not Record or Know Who Recorded Phone Conversation with AFP’s Tori Venable Broadcast in NewsChannel5 Report by Phil Williams

Michael Patrick Leahy
Mark Warner and Tori Venable

Tuesday afternoon on the Matt Murphy Show, broadcast weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, host Murphy interviewed Tori Venable, executive director of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee, about AFP’s support for Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill currently under consideration in The Tennessee General Assembly. During the interview, Venable criticized the reporting of Phil Williams in Monday evening’s broadcast on NewsChannel 5, which featured an interview with State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), as well as a recording of a phone call between Williams and Venable that was obtained without Venable’s consent.

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Michael Patrick Leahy: Phil Williams’ ‘Nothing Burger’ School Choice Story is Built on Secretly Recorded 2016 Strategy Session of Choice Advocates

Kaitlin Housler

JC Bowman, founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, debated an audio recording slated to be released by News Channel 5’s Phil Williams supposedly addressing the “origin of school vouchers” in Tennessee.

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News Channel 5 Quietly Removes Unsubstantiated Claim by Phil Williams that Andy Ogles ‘Kept the Money’

Michael Patrick Leahy

News Channel 5 published an article at 1:23 pm on Wednesday written by long time investigative reporter Phil Williams which stated that Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) “kept the money” raised eight years ago in a GoFundMe campaign meant for a memorial garden in honor of his infant son Hugh Lincoln Ogles, who died in 2014. A total of $23,565 was raised.

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EXCLUSIVE: Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles Blasts Phil Williams for Personal Attacks Based on Death of Ogles’ Son

Michael Patrick Leahy

Late Wednesday Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) blasted long time News Channel 5 reporter Phil Williams over claims Williams made about the death of Ogle’s son in 2014 in a story published earlier in the day by News Channel 5.

Hugh Lincoln Ogles, the son of future Congressman Ogles and his wife Monica Ogles, died on February 19, 2014, the day of his birth, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee.

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Crom’s Crommentary: News Channel 5’s Phil Williams Is Far-Left Partisan Media Member

Julie Carr

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, Live from Music Row, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio for another edition of Crom’s Crommentary.

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Gov. Lee Promises to Call Special Session if House Speaker Casada Does Not Resign

Jason M. Reynolds

  Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee promised to call a special session to remove House Speaker Glen Casada if he does not resign, following a no-confidence vote by House Republicans. Lee on Monday night tweeted, “Today House Republicans sent a clear message, and I’m prepared to call a special session if the Speaker doesn’t resign.” Today House Republicans sent a clear message, and I’m prepared to call a special session if the Speaker doesn’t resign. — Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) May 21, 2019 After the vote of no confidence, Casada said he was “disappointed” but would “work the next few months to regain the confidence of my colleagues so we can continue to build on the historic conservative accomplishments of this legislative session,” according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. According to a story by WSMV: Lee issued the statement after the 45-24 vote of no confidence taken against Casada after a lengthy meeting of the House Republican Caucus. House Majority Leader William Lamberth also called for Casada to resign and asked Lee to call a special session. House Republican leaders called for Casada’s resignation and supported the governor’s declaration, according to a story by The Tennessee Journal: On the Hill.…

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News Channel 5 News Director Appears to Contradict One Claim Phil Williams Made on Twitter About Cade Cothren Story

Chris Butler

  News Channel 5’s chief investigative reporter Phil Williams’ own boss seems to have contradicted something Williams said Sunday regarding the series of reports he’s produced about Cade Cothren and Justin Jones. Cothren was Casada’s chief of staff before he resigned Monday. Jones, meanwhile, is a left-wing activist and Vanderbilt Divinity School student awaiting a court date for allegedly throwing a cup of coffee at Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada as he stood in an elevator. Williams, on his personal Twitter feed, scolded The Tennessee Star for merely speculating as to whether former Nashville Metro Council member Nick Leonardo tipped Williams off to these stories. As reported, Leonardo is a legal analyst for News Channel 5 and serves as Jones’ attorney. Referring to this reporter, Williams said the following: “@cdbutler1204 also implies he has sniffed out a conspiracy,” Williams said. “One little problem: facts. Nick Leonardo is not currently in any official capacity with @NC5 and he absolutely was NOT the source.” .@cdbutler1204 also implies he has sniffed out a conspiracy. One little problem: facts. Nick Leonardo is not currently in any official capacity with @NC5 and he absolutely was NOT the source 9/ pic.twitter.com/rgiKszu1b7 — Phil Williams…

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Man Who Oversees Tennessee Legislature’s Server Corrects Phil Williams on His Cade Cothren and Justin Jones Exposé

Chris Butler

  The man who oversees the Tennessee General Assembly’s Local Information Server disputed some of what News Channel 5’s Phil Williams reported about Cade Cothren and Justin Jones and said so to him in an email Thursday. Cothren is chief of staff for Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada. Jones is a left-wing activist and Vanderbilt Divinity School student awaiting a court date for allegedly throwing a cup of coffee at Casada as he stood in an elevator. As Williams reported this week, Cothren might have doctored the time stamp on an email to frame Jones and put him in jail. Jones emailed Casada’s office on Feb. 25, a few days before Jones allegedly assaulted Casada on Feb. 28 and also before court officials told him to have no further contact with Casada’s office. Cothren said he received Jones’ email on March 1 and immediately contacted the office of Nashville District Attorney Glen Funk. Cothren said the email server took a few days to deliver Jones’ email to his inbox. Cothren said, however, he didn’t realize this until later. The email Cothren said he received had a March 1 time stamp. On his Twitter page Friday, Williams suggested he…

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Nashville Journalist Phil Williams Displeased with The Tennessean

Chris Butler

Things are so out-of-kilter at The Tennessean that even investigative reporter Phil Williams of News Channel 5 said he dropped his subscription. That’s because, going by Williams’ Twitter feed, the newspaper’s staff gypped him out of a lot of money. Williams, in his tweets, said nothing about the content of the paper — only the staff’s billing practices. “As much as I want to support my fellow journalists, today I became a FORMER @Tennessean subscriber b/c of the company’s billing practices. If you are a longtime EZ Pay subscriber, you should check your bank account,” Williams wrote, before posting several follow-up tweets. “My automatic drafts from my checking account had sneaked up on me, from $35/month in 2017 to an average $81/month now. For the record, my @Tennessean account lists me at $81/month, but I’ve been charged more in some months.” The problem, Williams went on to say is The Tennessean staff advertising $16 a month for seven-day home delivery that is 50 percent off. “That would make the regular price $32, right?” Williams wrote. “Apparently, NOT! The customer service representative told me that, because of where I live, the actually price is $81. BTW, I live in Davidson County.…

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Blockbuster Investigative Report by NewsChannel 5 Adds to Mayor Barry Scandal: ‘Chief Anderson Did Not Receive Nor Approve Sgt. Forrest’s Travel Requests’

Tennessee Star Staff

Since first admitting to a two year long extramarital affair with the head of her security detail, Sgt. Rob Forrest, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has maintained that Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson insisted that a security detail travel with her at all times, and that all of Forrest’s travel with her was approved by the Metro Nashville Police Department. But in a blockbuster report that aired on Friday, NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams revealed that documents obtained from the Mayor’s office which purport to show Chief Anderson approved Forrest’s travel with her are factually incorrect. As The Tennessee Star has reported, Mayor Barry and Sgt. Forrest traveled alone together at taxpayer expense on nine occasions in 2017 on trips to Athens, Greece, San Francisco, California, and Washington, D.C., among other places. They also traveled together when accompanied by other Metro Nashville employees to other cities, including one memorable trip from October 20 to 25 of 2017 to Paris, France. “As the city hall scandal unfolded, Police Chief Anderson insisted he never approved Sgt. Rob Forrest’s travel with Nashville Mayor Megan Barry,” NewsChannel 5 anchor Rhori Johnston began the report. “But documents released today by the Mayor’s office say he did. So what’s…

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