Tennessee Supreme Court Suspends Law License Of Ex-Senator

Image Credit: Brian Kelsey / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn]-

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended former state Senator Brian Kelsey’s law license after he pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance law violations last month.

Kelsey’s license was suspended at the request of the Board of Professional Responsibility as they await further orders from the court. The state Supreme Court said they were suspending the license because Kelsey pleaded guilty.

The board is in charge of the regulation of law practice in the state. They have stated that they will continue their own formal proceedings against Kelsey to decide what his ultimate discipline will be in regards to the charges.

Initially, Kelsey pleaded not guilty to all of the campaign finance charges brought against him in regards to his 2016 congressional bid, saying that he was “totally innocent” and that a “political witch hunt” was being waged. However, he changed his plea when he went before a federal judge in November.

Kelsey’s change of plea happened after Nashville club owner Joshua Smith, who is a co-defendant in the case, pleaded guilty in October to one count. Smith’s plea was part of a deal that stipulates that he must “cooperate fully and truthfully” with authorities.

Kelsey is currently awaiting sentencing and faces up to five years in prison for each of the two counts to which he pleaded guilty: conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions on behalf of a federal campaign.

A federal grand jury indicted Kelsey and Smith in October 2021, alleging that the pair conspired with others to illegally hide a $91,000 transfer to a national political organization that would advertise in support of Kelsey’s campaign. The indictment said that $66,000 of the money came from Kelsey’s state Senate campaign and the other $25,000 came from a nonprofit advocacy group.

According to prosecutors, Kelsey and others caused the nonprofit organization to make illegal contributions to Kelsey’s campaign and to file false reports with the FEC.

Kelsey was first elected as a state representative in 2004 and was later elected as a state senator in 2009. He announced in March that he would not be seeking reelection.

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