Image Credit: da.nashville.gov & Tennessee Bureau of Investigation / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk has been the subject of considerable scrutiny over recent months for alleged misconduct, leaving some to wonder if the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is finally stepping up to look into the matters.
When asked by NewsChannel 5, the TBI opted not to comment.
An email from TBI spokesperson Josh Devine stated, “While we appreciate and respect the public interest in matters such as this, the integrity of TBI’s investigative process is of the highest importance.”
“In certain, rare instances, it is our agency’s position that confirming or denying the existence of a TBI investigation could potentially limit our capacity to fully gather any and all relevant evidence and interview potential witnesses, to the detriment of the potential outcome of any investigation,” he continued.
“Our agency will fully review any information and evidence presented to us in accordance with state law. These reviews may or may not result in formal TBI investigations. For these reasons, and to preserve the overall integrity of our agency’s work, we are not able to provide information about our involvement in this matter.”
Most recently, Funk opted to refuse $354,000 in state funding to be used for the prosecution of DUI offenders. According to the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, Funk was the only District Attorney in the state to refuse the money, and he did so without giving a reason.
Funk has also stated several times over the last couple of years that he would not prosecute individuals for certain crimes, no matter what laws made those prosecutions mandatory. When President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon anyone who had a federal conviction for simple marijuana possession, Funk stated that he had not prosecuted anyone for that in years. He also stated that he would not prosecute any doctors who provided abortion services, despite the fact that Tennessee’s new law prohibits all abortions.
NewsChannel 5 noted that a part-time employee was paid $75,000 by Funk with little proof of any work to support that payment. Calendars and emails that were examined did not match up with time sheets that were submitted by the employee.
Additionally, they sought answers regarding employees of the DA’s office working on Funk’s reelection campaign while on the clock. Employee records appear to have been changed to look like individuals took time off when they may not have actually done so.
State and Metro auditors announced in December that they planned to conduct their own investigation into all of those allegations.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office has the ability to prosecute district attorneys if they find that misconduct has taken place. His office did note that they were aware of the concerns regarding Funk.
“We are aware of the allegations and take them very seriously,” emailed Press Secretary Elizabeth Lane.
Funk and his team claim they have done nothing wrong in any of the cases.
