Federal Campaign Finance Case Against Kelsey Gains Steam With Guilty Plea Slated From Co-Defendant
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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Back in October 2021, Senator Brian Kelsey (R-District 31-Germantown) was indicted for allegedly funneling more than $90,000 from his state account to his failed 2016 congressional campaign, a violation of federal law.
Following, Kelsey stepped down from his position on the Senate Education Committee and stated that he was innocent of the five counts brought against him. At the same time, he claimed that the fed’s lead witness in the case received immunity.
Kelsey, along with Joshua Smith, owner of the The Standard Club, an upscale restaurant in downtown Nashville, were charged with funneling funds in excess of $90,000 from his state account to his 2016 congressional campaign through the social club’s political action committee and then to the American Conservative Union, which bought independent ads supporting Kelsey’s run.
Now, co-defendent Josh Smith is slated to plead guilty to a single charge of funneling “soft money” to the campaign, according to court documents.
Facing multiple campaign finance violations, Smith will change his plea of not guilty to one of guilty on the second count in the federal indictment.
The second count in the indictment for Smith states that he “solicited, received, directed, transferred and spent” funds in excess of $25,000 acting as an agent for Kelsey’s campaign, as reported by The Tennessee Journal.
Prosecutors state that both Kelsey and Smith conspired with others from February through mid-October 2016 to violate campaign finance laws and illegally move “soft money,” funds that are not subject to Federal Election Commission requirements, from the senator’s state account through The Standard’s political action committee and then to the American Conservative Union and Citizens 4 Ethics in Government.
According to the indictment, the funds were then used to purchase $80,000 worth of radio ads to support Kelsey’s bid for federal office.
In addition, the filing claims that Kelsey gave Smith a check of over $106,000 in July of 2016 as a transfer from his campaign account to The Standard Club’s PAC.
Left-leaning non-profit Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, that claims to be nonpartisan but leans to the left, first filed a complaint against Kelsey in June 2017 with the Federal Election Commission.
The complaint requested that the Department of Justice investigate whether Kelsey’s congressional campaign committee communicated with the American Conservative Union, Citizens 4 Ethics in Government and the Standard Club’s PAC, along with several state legislators to intentionally violate federal campaign finance laws.
Despite the charges, Kelsey is maintaining his innocence. When he addressed the Senate during the Special Session to address Medical Freedoms, Kelsey stated that he is “totally innocent” and said he looks forward to clearing his name.
Kelsey went further to state that he was being targeted due his conservative political views.
Kelsey is maintaining his “not guilty” plea to this day and has denied any wrongdoing. However, he is not seeking re-election this year.
The trial is slated for January 2023.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
