Photo: Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, walks with his new attorneys. Photo Credit: John Partipilo
By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
An increasingly impatient federal judge reset sentencing Thursday for former state Sen. Brian Kelsey amid the prosecution’s complaint about “delay tactics” in the federal campaign finance case.
U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw scheduled the new sentencing date for Aug. 11 and granted Kelsey’s request for new attorneys, Alex Little and Zachary Lawson, to take over his case, marking a third set of counsel and yet another postponement. Sentencing originally was set for June but was expected to be done even sooner until Kelsey balked.
Displaying a shortening fuse, Crenshaw and Little repeatedly interrupted each other in the Thursday hearing as Little sought more time to get a grip on the case and Crenshaw pointed out it’s been nearly a year since Kelsey pleaded guilty (nine months to be exact).
“We need to go to sentencing,” the judge said, noting it’s a 2021 case with a guilty plea yet still no sentence.
Little, who initially sought a 30-day delay after he was hired a week ago, finally said he could prepare for sentencing in two weeks, which includes bringing in yet another attorney from Arizona, Kory Langhofer, to testify in an effort to lessen Kelsey’s sentence. He was counsel for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as well as litigation counsel for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential run, according to his bio.
Kelsey needs all the “mitigation” he can get as he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 fines on each of two counts for directing a scheme to use money from his state campaign account to support his failing 2016 congressional run. Kelsey gave co-defendant, The Standard Club proprietor Josh Smith, whose sentencing is set for the same day, a check for $106,000, which was filtered through The Standard Club PAC and Citizens 4 Ethics in Government PAc to the American Conservative Union, which bought radio/digital ads backing Kelsey’s campaign shortly before he finished fourth in the race seven years ago.
Kelsey was set to go to trial late last year until Smith pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the feds.
Federal prosecutors say Kelsey illicitly used “soft money” not governed by federal laws to bolster his campaign, even though it’s illegal to direct state campaign funds to a federal race.
Months after his guilty plea last November, Kelsey sidelined attorneys Paul Bruno, Jerry Martin and David Rivera in favor of David Warringon of Dhillon Law Group in Alexandria, Virginia when he sought to renege. Crenshaw said no way.
But that didn’t stop Kelsey from trying to find another way to put off potential prison time.
He hired Little and Lawson recently (one wonders how he keeps getting all this money since he no longer can practice law), citing a breakdown in the relationship with the initial trio.
Kelsey also set the stage for a possible lawsuit against his former attorneys. The potential for legal action against his former attorneys isn’t expected to derail the Aug. 11 sentencing but could run parallel if he follows through.
Little said in court Thursday he plans to do a couple of things differently than the now-former counsel, and he noted Kelsey was surprised by some of Bruno’s actions. Bruno testified at a May hearing when called by the feds.
(They tell me that Kelsey finally got the right defense attorney. But others tell me he had good counsel already.)
Still, federal prosecutor Amanda Klopf pointed out Kelsey’s sentencing has “dragged out quite a bit,” and she added, “this does feel like a delay tactic at this point.”
For anyone trying to catch up, Kelsey complained that crying twin babies and his later father’s illness kept him from making the right decision last fall when he pleaded guilty. He also claimed he didn’t understand the criminal legal system, even though he served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and worked as an attorney for the Liberty Counsel trying to undermine union activity nationwide.
He also nearly pulled Little’s arm off several times during Thursday’s hearing to give him legal advice, not that Little needs it.
The judge noted that Kelsey testified he wanted Bruno and team to represent him, then changed his mind, not once but twice.
Amid the finagling for new legal representation and claims that the Bruno team wasn’t doing its job, Crenshaw appeared to sum up the last few months when he said: “I’m wondering if I was misled.”
Klopf also said Kelsey’s maneuvering threw a “last-minute wrench” into the proceedings, which could work against him if he’s trying to get the feds to agree to anything.
Likewise, when trying to get the judge to go light at sentencing you throw yourself at the mercy of the court. But when you’ve been labeled the “stunt baby of Germantown,” shenanigans become the norm.
About the Author: Sam Stockard is a veteran Tennessee reporter and editor, having written for the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, where he served as lead editor when the paper won an award for being the state’s best Sunday newspaper two years in a row. He has led the Capitol Hill bureau for The Daily Memphian. His awards include Best Single Editorial from the Tennessee Press Association. Follow Stockard on Twitter @StockardSam
One Response
What’s with all the sunshine? Driverless-car-Google-shill Kelsey is used to secret backroom corporate welfare deals and railroading freshmen legislators to run his bills in the House. He’s not used to facing the music.
But seriously, will he qualify for one of Lockdown Lee’s red flag executive orders? He seems kinda unstable.