Legislative Leadership, Media Mishandle Accusations of Legislator Jeremy Durham’s Misconduct
GOP Leaders Glen Casada, Beth Harwell & Ryan Anderson address Durham misconduct issue. The Tennessean/2016. Most of what I initially heard about Rep. Durham’s alleged sexual harassment and texting saga has been gained through media reports such as the one that surfaced in The Tennessean, and others that quickly followed. To be honest I haven’t followed the inner workings of Tennessee’s Capitol Hill since I left office in 2009. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to a number of former colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who for the most part, agree with my perspective. They just can’t state it without the fear of negative political repercussions. For those who may not remember, I resigned my state senate seat in 2009 after a failed extortion attempt that I reported to the Tennessee Bureau Investigation. This incident became public and exposed a five-week affair I had with an intern. Ultimately, the facts revealed that she also had a boyfriend (the extortionist) who eventually pled guilty and was convicted for committing a felony. Having been in the middle of a media onslaught I understand the intense political pressure to resign. The scandal was inconvenient for some of [...]