by J. Holly McCall, Tennessee Lookout
April 24, 2025

Day two of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada’s federal corruption trial ended with a jury chosen and indications of how defense lawyers could try to keep their client out of prison. 

Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren are on trial for allegations of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, bribery and kickbacks after funneling contracts for political consulting services for state House members to a company founded by Cothren called Phoenix Solutions. 

Casada’s attorney Ed Yarbrough questioned prospective alternate jurors Tuesday about whether they have worked in sales, received commissions in exchange for work — raising the question of whether commissions and kickbacks could be seen as mutually exchangeable terms — or outsourced work to subcontractors. 

“Did your customers always know who was doing the work?” Yarbrough asked. 

Federal prosecutors’ case rests partially on the premise that Casada and former Chattanooga Rep. Robin Smith secured contracts for political consulting services from House Republican Caucus members, receiving a cut of the proceeds from Cothren in return. 

Cothren resigned from his post in May 2019 amid a scandal over racist and sexist text messages that was heavily reported by Nashville-area media. He formed Phoenix Solutions in 2020 and prosecutors allege Casada and Smith purposely concealed Cothren’s identity on the assumption House members would not contract with Phoenix if they knew Cothren was behind it. 

Opening arguments will begin Thursday morning.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The content primarily reports on the federal corruption trial of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his chief of staff, Cade Cothren. The language used in the article is factual and focused on legal proceedings without overtly advocating for any political stance or party. However, the context surrounding a scandal involving members of the Republican Party and the critical mentions of corruption, racism, and sexism suggest a tendency to highlight negative aspects of right-leaning political figures. This positioning aligns the content slightly more with a Center-Left perspective, as it may reflect an underlying criticism of the political establishment rather than maintaining a neutral reporting stance.