Image: Former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey exits the federal courthouse in Nashville after pleading guilty on two federal counts on Nov. 22, 2022. Image Credit: John Partipilo
By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
When the federal judge handling former state Sen. Brian Kelsey’s federal campaign finance case ordered all parties to be present for a Thursday hearing, he was serious.
U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw denied a request by attorney David Warrington of Dhillon Law Group in Alexandria, Virginia to attend a Thursday status hearing remotely, either by telephone or teleconference, according to court documents.
Despite an order by Crenshaw for Kelsey, co-defendant Josh Smith and all counsel to be present for the hearing at the federal courthouse in Nashville, Warrington asked permission to appear remotely because he has a case Wednesday in Fairfax, Virginia and a multi-day hearing in New York Aug. 1-2, making it difficult for him to be in Nashville for Thursday’s 9 a.m. case. Crenshaw rejected his request.
Warrington represented Kelsey in his effort to withdraw a guilty plea on charges he directed a plan to funnel $109,000 from his state campaign account in 2016 through two political action committees to the American Conservative Union, which bought digital and radio ads supporting Kelsey in his failed congressional bid. It is illegal to use state campaign funds for a federal election.
Kelsey benched three other prominent attorneys, Paul Bruno, David Rivera and Jerry Martin, when he hired Warrington. Most recently, he brought in attorneys Alex Little and Zachary Lawson to seek a 30-day delay in his sentencing and to prepare for a possible lawsuit against his other attorneys.
Crenshaw then set the hearing for this Thursday and ordered Kelsey and all counsel to appear, in addition to federal attorneys handling the prosecution.
The judge also ordered Smith, owner of The Standard, an upscale Nashville restaurant whose political action committee filtered Kelsey’s money, to be present for the morning hearing. Smith was to be sentenced Thursday afternoon but instead will have to attend the earlier status hearing, the judge ordered.
Kelsey faces a maximum of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count to which he pleaded guilty.
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
