Feds investigating Cothren over cyberstalking allegations, lawyers say in new court filing

Federal prosecutors are investigating Cade Cothren related to cyberstalking allegations, according to new documents filed Friday after law enforcement seized the former top political aide's cell phone this week.

Cothren's attorneys asked a federal judge to quash the warrant law enforcement executed in an early morning raid on Tuesday, and the new filing said prosecutors are investigating cyberstalking and other crimes involving Cothren and two others. No charges have been filed related to the investigation.

Prosecutors said in a response filed Friday afternoon that, "in an abundance of caution," the FBI has not extracted any information from Cothren's phone and will not do so before a telephone hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon. They add that "no government agent or attorney has reviewed the phone's contents" prior to the filing.

The search warrant and new investigation into Cothren were revealed when federal prosecutors this week asked a judge to delay the impending federal trial of both Cothren and Glen Casada, the former House speaker.

Law enforcement seized four cell phones from Cothren's residence, only one of which was his, according to his lawyers. According to Cothren's lawyers, the warrant authorizes the government to search for communications between Cothren and a private investigator who previously worked on Cothren’s defense team in his criminal case.

Cothren's lawyers now argue in a motion filed Friday morning that the search warrant, which was issued as part of the separate investigation, allows the government to search for evidence related to the criminal case scheduled for trial without requiring that the government demonstrate probable cause.

The lawyers are asking that U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson quash the warrant, which was signed by federal magistrate judge Barbara D. Holmes. It's an unusual ask, and Richardson asked that prosecutors address what authority he has to do so by the end of the day Friday.

In response, the government said that Cothren's challenge to the search warrant is misplaced, and Cothren's attorneys should have filed their challenge with Holmes. Prosecutors also argue that Cothren cannot challenge the warrant before the phone's contents have been searched.

Cothren's attorneys said he disputes any alleged violations of the federal cyberstalking statute, but he has "insufficient information" about the allegations to fully challenge them yet.

The parties are scheduled for a telephone hearing Monday afternoon to address several pending motions. A lawyer for Cothren declined to comment Friday afternoon.

Prosecutors allege Cothren — pushed out as Casada's top aide in the wake of admitted drug use and a sexist and racist texting scandal — set up shadowy political consulting firm Phoenix Solutions to tap into taxpayer-funded mailer services available to lawmakers, as well as the lucrative political campaign mailer business. Casada is accused of whipping up business among his fellow lawmakers. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In communication records filed in the Phoenix case, Cothren continually reminded Casada and former Rep. Robin Smith, who accepted a plea deal in 2021, to shield Cothren's involvement in the firm.

Prosecutors argue the trio hid Cothren's involvement because the General Assembly, under new House Speaker Cameron Sexton's leadership, would not have approved the company as a vendor if Cothren's involvement was publicly known.

More: Three legislative informants played crucial role in Casada, Cothren arrests, search warrant reveals

Cothren last year sought to subpoena Sexton's phone and other communications records, arguing Sexton remained a close confidant and even tried to find Cothren a lobbying job in 2019.

Prosecutors used three confidential informants inside the General Assembly to build a case against the trio beginning in May 2020, according to a federal warrant obtained by The Tennessean in 2022.

The federal probe sprung into public view in early 2021 after federal agents raided multiple General Assembly offices. Sexton cooperated with investigators in the early days of his speakership, and he was among a group of lawmakers believed to have testified in a 2022 grand jury before Casada and Cothren were charged.

In the most recent court filing, Cothren's attorneys said investigators may be probing Brian Manookian and Larry "Chuck" Grimes in relation to the cyberstalking investigation.

Manookian, a suspended local attorney, has been highly critical of Sexton and his leadership, using social media in recent months to accuse the speaker of not living in his district and hinting at details of Sexton's personal life.

Manookian last year sued the state to get public records related to House records of an unrelated sexual harassment issue. Manookian has not returned a Tennessean request for comment, and his attorney could not be reached by Friday afternoon.

Grimes is an employee in the Tennessee Board of Regents' safety and security office and former candidate for the Tennessee Republican Party's State Executive Committee. Richard Locker, communications director for the chancellor's staff of the board of regents, said Grimes is on administrative leave "while we look into the nature of these matters."

Grimes declined to comment in an email to The Tennessean Friday evening.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Feds investigating Cade Cothren for cyberstalking crimes