Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Former State Lawmaker Robin Smith has been directed to report to prison to serve her 8-month sentence while her two fellow conspirators have been granted Presidential pardons.
Smith has received a letter from the Bureau of Prisons assigning her to the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. According to the Federal Marshall’s Office, Smith must present herself to the facility by 2 p.m. on January 5th, 2026.
Federal Judge Eli Richardson in Nashville sentenced Smith to serve an 8-months long sentence, compared to years for conspirators Glen Casada and Cade Cothren, along with a fine of $7,500.
In late September, Casada, former House Speaker, was sentenced to 36 months in prison after a jury convicted him on multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and theft in connection with a shell company called Phoenix Solutions run by Cothren, his one-time top aide. Cothren received a slightly shorter sentence of 30 months.
President Donald Trump has since issued full pardons for the two men. The White House said the pair had been over-prosecuted significantly for what they called a “minor issue.”
As Smith testified as a witness for the prosecution, in hopes of receiving a lesser punishment, her attorneys requested that she receive probation to “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.”
Before the pardons for Casada and Cothran were announced, Smith appealed to President Trump herself in an attempt to avoid her sentence saying that she had been unfairly targeted for prosecution due to decades of political grassroots efforts in the conservative sphere.
Smith has already paid off a $28,263.26 judgment against her in connection with the corruption case.
Smith, once chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, pleaded guilty in March 2022 to one count of honest services wire fraud in relation to the alleged scheme involving bribery and kickbacks. The charge, regularly used in corruption prosecutions, was accompanied by Smith’s agreement to fully and truthfully cooperate with the federal government.
Smith has said that if she ends 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. Without her cooperation and trial testimony, Smith believes that the convictions of Casada and Cothren would not have been realized.
Additional Sources:
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2025/11/23/511701/Robin-Smith-Assigned-To-Federal-Prison.aspx
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Yup, scapegoated.