Photo: Cade Cothren, ex-chief of staff to former House Speaker Glen Casada, leaving Nashville’s federal courthouse on August 23 after being arraigned on federal charges. Photo Credit: Holly McCall
By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
Federal agents seized the electronic devices of former House Speaker Chief of Staff Cade Cothren Tuesday morning in a separate investigation from a corruption probe on Capitol Hill, court documents show.
U.S. attorneys postponed the March 5 trial date for Cothren and former House Speaker Glen Casada until April or May because of there is a chance their cell phones could contain new evidence.
Cothren and Casada are facing federal charges for running an alleged kickback scheme involving vendors that did tens of thousands of dollars worth of business for House members involving mailers sent to constituents.
The latest filing shows as part of a new investigation, federal agents seized electronic devices belonging to Cothren and others early Tuesday. The devices, mainly cell phones, likely contain evidence about Cothren and Casada, according federal prosecutors.
“Before the investigative team in that matter can provide any potentially discoverable material to the government’s trial team in this matter, a filter team will need to conduct a review of Cothren’s device and potentially other devices and withhold privileged communications,” the U.S. attorneys said in the filing.
The government is seeking trial dates of either April 29, May 6 or May 13. Casada hasn’t said what alternative date he would prefer, while the documents show Cothren wants to go to trial after the Supreme Court rules on Snyder v. United States, which deals with the exchange of money and quid pro quo agreements.
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