Former Tennessee Rep Robin Smith, Who Sought Resentencing While Codefendants Were Granted Pardons, To Avoid Jail Time

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Former state Representative Robin Smith who sought resentencing while her “partners-in-crime” received presidential pardons will avoid jail time after all.

U.S. District Judge Eli J. Richardson’s ruling was filed approximately an hour before Smith was scheduled to report to a federal prison in West Virginia to serve an eight-month sentence. Instead, Smith will now face only a year of probation and her original $7,500 fine has been reduced to $100.

Smith’s codefendants, former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his ex-chief of staff Cade Cothren were granted pardons just weeks after being sentenced for their part in a kickback scheme to defraud the state through taxpayer funded mailers.

Casada was sentenced to 36 months in prison for multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and theft in connection with shell company Phoenix Solutions which was run by Cothren. Cothren had been sentenced to 30 months a week prior to Casada.

The secret company tapped into the state’s postage and printing program that provides House members with $3,000 a year for mailers sent to their constituents. Smith and Casada persuaded lawmakers to use Phoenix Solutions which was being run by Cothren under an alias.

Saying she was unfairly targeted for prosecution due to decades of political grassroots efforts in the conservative sphere, Smith has appealed to President Trump herself for a pardon.

In her motion for resentencing, Smith’s attorney said that the lesser sentence would “mitigate the manifest injustice that will result from Ms. Smith being the only one of the three conspirators to face consequences for their criminal activity.”

In pleading her case to the court, Smith’s attorney pointed out that Smith initially received a lighter sentence than either Casada or Cothren as a result of her cooperation with federal investigators but with both men having received full and unconditional pardons, the “careful calibration of the sentences” by the court has now been destroyed.

Smith is the only one of the three to pay off a hefty judgment against her in connection with the case.

The judgement – considered to be equal to the proceeds she received from the scheme – was paid in full via a cashier’s check. In all, Smith and her codefendants raked in approximately $52,000 in taxpayer funds. However, Casada and Cothren avoided paying restitution due their pardons.

Ben Rose, attorney for Smith, is still optimistic about the possibility of Smith receiving a presidential pardon, in which case, she would likely have her restitution payment remitted to her.

Rose hopes for Smith to be on par with Casada and Cothren through a pardon.

Smith, once chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, pled guilty in March 2022 to one count of honest services wire fraud in relation to the alleged scheme. The charge, regularly used in corruption prosecutions, was accompanied by Smith’s agreement to fully and truthfully cooperate with the federal government.

Before her resentencing, Smith had said that if she ended up having to serve her sentence that people caught up in political conspiracies in the future will be less likely to help the federal government with prosecutions.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.