Here’s a summarized version of the article, along with a "Key Takeaways" section:
Key Takeaways
- Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, were pardoned by former President Trump after being convicted on federal corruption charges related to a mailer scheme.
- Casada received a three-year prison sentence, and Cothren a 2.5-year sentence, for their involvement in a scheme that defrauded taxpayers of over $50,000.
- The White House under Trump argued that the Justice Department under Biden over-prosecuted the case, framing the issue as a "minor" one with minimal financial loss.
- Casada had previously resigned as speaker due to unrelated scandals involving sexually explicit texts and Cothren resigned amid racist and drug-fueled texts.
- Trump has a history of pardoning Republican lawmakers convicted of similar crimes, including George Santos and Michael Grimm.
Summary
Former President Donald Trump issued a pardon to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, both of whom had been convicted on federal corruption charges. Casada, a Republican, was sentenced in September to three years in prison, while Cothren received a 2.5-year sentence. The convictions stemmed from a 2020 scheme in which the two men were found to have fraudulently obtained over $50,000 in taxpayer money through a mailer program intended for lawmakers. Prosecutors successfully argued that Cothren, with Casada’s support, had falsified tax documents for a political consulting firm that received the illicit funds.
Following the sentencing, Matthew Galeotti, a high-ranking official in the Justice Department Criminal Division, emphasized the commitment to holding public officials accountable for betraying public trust and defrauding taxpayers. However, the Trump White House offered a starkly contrasting perspective, asserting that the Justice Department under President Joe Biden had "significantly over-prosecuted" Casada and Cothren. According to the White House, the issue involved "a minor issue involving constituent mailers" that were billed at competitive rates, never drew complaints from legislators, and resulted in a net profit loss of less than $5,000.
Casada’s attorney, Ed Yarbough, confirmed that he was awaiting the formal pardon paperwork but that Trump had personally informed Casada of the pardon the day before his scheduled prison reporting date. This pardon spared Casada from serving his three-year sentence.
Prior to the corruption charges, Casada had already resigned from his position as speaker in 2019 amidst a series of unrelated scandals. These included reports of him exchanging sexually explicit texts about women with Cothren. Cothren himself resigned shortly before Casada after the publication of sexually suggestive, racist, and drug-related text messages by News Channel 5 in Nashville and other media outlets. Cothren also admitted to using cocaine in a state legislative office building during a previous employment.
Notably, this pardon aligns with a pattern of Trump pardoning Republican lawmakers convicted of financial crimes during his time in office. In mid-October, he commuted the sentence of former New York Rep. George Santos, who was serving a seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. And in May 2025, Trump pardoned former New York Rep. Michael Grimm, who served eight months in prison in 2015 for tax evasion.
