A former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and his chief of staff were indicted on Tuesday on corruption charges, according to the Justice Department.
The charges allege that former speaker and current State Rep. Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren created a company and a fake persona to receive state funds.
The indictment alleges that Casada and Cothren said the political consulting business they actually owned and profited from was run by a "Matthew Phoenix," but in reality there was no Matthew Phoenix and the men were profiting by diverting state funds to the business.
Casada, a Republican, said earlier this year he would not seek reelection, had resigned from House leadership in August 2019.
The Justice Department alleges the state mailer program was at the center of the corruption. The program allowed $3,000 to be used for sending constituent mail and said any other expenses could be offset by campaign funds.
"Casada and Individual 4 would and did receive kickbacks from Cothren in exchange for using their positions as members of the Tennessee House of Representatives to perform official acts, including pressuring the Tennessee House Speaker's Office and other State officials to approve Phoenix Solutions as a Mailer Program vendor and to disburse State funds to Phoenix Solutions," the indictment said.
Rep. Glen Casada attends a House session on the first day of the 2020 legislative session in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 14, 2020.Mark Humphrey/AP, FILE
Another Tennessee state lawmaker was charged in March with similar crimes, according to DOJ.
They are also charged with bribery and kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds, honest services wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The scheme, DOJ said, also involved other state representatives but they were not named nor charged in court documents, and the scheme went on for almost three years, according to court documents.
Both men were arrested by the FBI at their houses Tuesday morning, the Justice Department said in a release.
In 2020, these companies and Phoenix Solutions received approximately $51,947 from the State in payments associated with the mailer program, DOJ alleges.
The money laundering charges carry a 20-year prison sentence if those indicted are found guilty and the public corruption and bribery charges carry 10-year sentences.
Casada has not returned ABC News request for comment and there was no lawyer listed on the court docket for Cothren.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday despite repeated warnings not to from mainland China, which claims the island democracy as its own territory.
Pelosi and members of a congressional delegation landed at Taipei Songshan Airport in the Taiwanese capital at just after 10:40 p.m. local time as part of her tour of Asia. She visited Singapore on Monday and Malaysia on Tuesday. Her office previously said she would also travel to South Korea and Japan but didn't mention a stop in Taiwan, until after her plane touched down under the cover of darkness Tuesday night.
"Our Congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant Democracy," Pelosi and the delegation said in a joint statement Tuesday. "Our visit is part of our broader trip to the Indo-Pacific -- including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan -- focused on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance. Our discussions with Taiwan leadership will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy."
"Our visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan -- and it in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances," they added. "The United States continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo."
Pelosi is the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan in a quarter century. Beijing considers any official contact with Taiwan a recognition of its democratically elected government, which the mainland's ruling Communist Party asserts has no right to conduct foreign relations.
The delegation headed by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives in Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 2, 2022.
Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via ABC News
Just minutes after Pelosi's arrival was confirmed, China's largest state-run news agency, Xinhua, announced that live-fire military drills would be held in the airspace and waters surrounding and close to Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced that the armed command in charge of "defending China's sovereignty in the East China Sea," including Taiwan, "will carry out a series of joint military operations around" the island starting Tuesday night. The operations will include "joint air and sea exercises," "long-range live ammunition firing in the Taiwan Strait" and "regular-guided fire testing in the eastern waters of Taiwan Island," according to the ministry.
"This action is a solemn deterrent against the major escalation of the U.S.'s recent negative actions on the Taiwan issue, and a serious warning to the 'Taiwan independence' forces seeking 'independence,'" the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement, vowing to "take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to the U.S. House Speaker's visit to Taiwan, China," adding that "the U.S. and the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces must be responsible for all the consequences."
A spokesperson for the National People's Congress said in another statement that China's 3,000-member ceremonial legislature "firmly opposes and strongly condemns" Pelosi's trip to Taiwain.
The Chinese Communist Party's Taiwan Affairs Office called Pelosi's visit to the island "an escalation of the Taiwan-US collusion, which is very bad in nature and has very serious consequences."
The Boeing C-40C flight SPAR19 carrying the delegation headed by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives in Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 2, 2022.
Ritchie Tongo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In Washington, D.C., White House spokesperson John Kirby appeared to downplay China's announcement of large military drills near Taiwan in the coming days, saying the statements made thus far fall in line with the "playbook" he had discussed on Monday.
"She has every right to go," Kirby said of Pelosi while addressing reporters on Tuesday. "She's the speaker of the House of Representatives and a member of Congress, and it is not atypical for members of Congress to travel to Taiwan. It's also not unprecedented for a speaker of the House to travel to Taiwan."
Kirby said the U.S. government would continue to make sure Pelosi's visit was "safe and secure."
“We support her right to visit," he added. "We're going to make sure that that visit is safe and secure"
Pelosi's arrival came on the heels of already fiery reactions from Chinese officials amid reports that she was planning such a trip.
Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a press briefing on Monday that Beijing "will take firm and strong measures" if Pelosi were to travel to Taiwan.
"We want to once again make it clear to the US side that the Chinese side is fully prepared for any eventuality and that the People’s Liberation Army of China will never sit idly by, and we will make resolute response and take strong countermeasures to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," Zhao said. "We have on many occasions stated our grave concern and solemn position that we firmly oppose Speaker Pelosi's attempted visit to Taiwan region, and will take firm and strong measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"The One China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he added. "It is the United States that has constantly distorted and hollowed out the One China policy and made irresponsible remarks on the Taiwan question, creating tension across the Strait. The U.S. side lately has begun to stress the need to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country. We hope that the U.S. side should first act as it speaks on the Taiwan question and must not play the double-standard game."
A person watches a news channel about the potential visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 2, 2022.
Ritchie B Tongo/EPA via Shutterstock
Under the so-called "One China principle", Beijing regards Taiwan as their territory, a renegade province to be reunified -- by force if necessary -- with the mainland. The U.S. has a "One China Policy" recognizing the people of Mainland China and Taiwan being part of "One China," that Beijing is China's sole legal government and does not support an independent Taiwan, but considers the matter "unsettled." Washington is also militarily supportive of the self-governing island and maintains extensive commercial and unofficial ties.
Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949, following a civil war between the Nationalist Party's forces and those of the Communist Party. As the communists took control of the mainland, the nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan where they established their new capital.
Both sides agree that they are one country but disagree on which is the national leader. Although they have no formal relations, the island's economy remains reliant on trade with the mainland.
The U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. The Taiwan Relations Act, which went into force that same year, requires Washington to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Hua Chunying, a senior spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, appeared to dial down the rhetoric on Tuesday before Pelosi's arrival was officially announced, telling reporters that Beijing and Washington "have maintained close communication."
"China has repeatedly and unmistakably expressed to the U.S. side our strong opposition to Speaker Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan," Hua said. "And we hope that two U.S. officials will be very clear about the importance and sensitivity of this issue and how dangerous this issue could be."
While the Chinese foreign ministry has not yet summoned U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns in protest, Hua noted: "I think when appropriate, we will be in touch with the U.S. ambassador."
Unlike Zhao, she would not comment on any military response to Pelosi's visit and deferred the question to a spokesperson for the ruling party's military, the People’s Liberation Army.
A man rubs his forehead as he reads a newspaper headline reporting "U.S. Taiwan staring anxiously on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi" at a stand in Beijing, China, on Aug. 2, 2022.
"China appears to be positioning itself to potentially take further steps in the coming days and perhaps over longer time horizons," Kirby said.
Kirby told reporters that the "potential steps" China may take in response "could include military provocations, such as firing missiles in the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan, operations that break historical norms such as a large-scale air entry into Taiwan's air defense identification zone" or "air or naval activities that crossed the median line; military exercises that could be highly publicized." He said the last time Beijing fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait was in 1996.
There could also be measures taken "in the diplomatic and economic space," Kirby said, "like Beijing's public assertions last month that the Taiwan Strait is not an international waterway."
When asked what planning was "being done in advance to ensure there won't be any dangerous fallout if she does indeed go to Taiwan," Kirby told reporters he could "assure" that Pelosi would be able to "travel safely and securely."
"The speaker makes her own decisions," he added. “And what we did was provide her context, analysis, facts, information, so that she could make the best decision possible for every stop, for every overseas travel."
Kirby cast the escalating tensions as fueled by China, which the U.S. was "not threatening." He said a potential visit from Pelosi would have precedent and would not "change the status quo" regarding China and Taiwan.
In 1997, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan after meeting with then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing.
But Hua told reporters Tuesday that there would be no "excuse" for a visit by Pelosi.
"The wrong actions of individual U.S. politicians in the past should not set a precedent, much less an excuse for the US to make mistakes on the Taiwan issue," she said.
Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari. — Facebook/File
LAHORE: Voting on the no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari begins in Punjab Assembly on Friday.
The no-trust motion was tabled against the deputy speaker by PTI following his worsening ties with the party.
Mazari was criticised by PTI Chief Imran Khan and other party leaders for his ruling against the current Chief Minister of Punjab Pervez Elahi. The ruling rejected 10 votes cast by the PML-Q, depriving Elahi of becoming the CM and instated Hamza Shahbaz as the province’s CM.
However, the setback was momentary as the Supreme Court annulled Mazari's ruling and instated the Khan-backed candidate, Elahi, as the CM.
Prior to the voting, empty ballot boxes were displayed in the House.
Meanwhile, PTI’s Sibtain Khan was elected as Punjab Assembly’s speaker today. He was contending against PML-N’s Saif ul Malook Khokhar, nominated as the Opposition's joint candidate
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers protested across the country late Friday night against the ruling of the Punjab Assembly's deputy speaker that helped Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) candidate to retain his chief ministership of the province.
Disappointed with what happened during the run-off election in the provincial assembly's session on Friday, Chairman PTI Imran Khan gave the protest call in his late-night speech. The PTI chief said he was "in a state of shock" to see the incidents in the Punjab Assembly during the run-off election.
Imran Khan said that Article 63A of the Constitution states that it is the head of the parliamentary party, whose decision is binding on the members to vote.
Responding to his call, the PTI workers took to roads and streets in different cities and staged protest demonstrations. The PTI activists and supporters gathered in Islamabad at D Chowk and F9 Park and Lahore's Liberty Chowk and Karachi's Shahra-e-Faisal.
The demonstration of the PTI workers caused massive traffic jams from the nursery to the Baloch Colony Bridge owing to the road closure. The protest demonstrations were staged in other areas of the metropolis including Teen Talwar.
Peshawar's Hashtnagari also witnessed protests where the PTI workers set tires on fire to block the road for traffic. They raised slogans against the election of the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Protest rallies were also taken out at Chandni Chowk in Rawalpindi, Manan Chowk in Quetta, Ghanta Ghar Chowk in Faisalabad and Sialkot. Similar protests were held in other cities including Gujranwala, Gujrat, Faisalabad and Multan.
In Hyderabad, the situation turned volatile when the workers of the PPP and PTI came face to face while shouting out slogans at Hyder Chowk. Police resorted to baton-charge to break up the confrontation.
Friday's Dramatic PA session
In Friday's dramatic session of the Punjab Assembly, Mazari announced the win for Hamza Shahbaz. After waving a letter from PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who disallowed the party's members to take part in the vote, he cited Article 63A of the Constitution and rejected ten votes cast by PML-Q lawmakers.
The deputy speaker's ruling frustrated the bid of Pervez Elahi to become the Punjab CM. He was the PTI's candidate for the chief ministership. Having bagged 186 votes against Hamza's 179, Elahi lost the contest as his own party's ten votes were declared invalid.
Challenging the deputy speaker's ruling, PTI leader Raja Basharat said Shujaat is not authorised to take such a decision for his party under Article 63A as Sajid Bhatti is PML-Q's parliamentary leader.
The PTI's workers gather at the SC's Lahore Registry late Friday night. Photo: Twitter
The leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) have moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the ruling of the Punjab Assembly's deputy speaker that paved the way for Hamza Shahbaz to retain his post of the chief minister of the province.
The PTI and PML-Q leaders reached the SC's Lahore Registry late Friday and filed a petition against the ruling of Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari.
In Friday's dramatic session of the Punjab Assembly, Mazari announced the win for Hamza Shahbaz. After waving a letter from PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who disallowed the party's members to take part in the vote, he cited Article 63A of the Constitution and rejected ten votes cast by PML-Q lawmakers.
The deputy speaker's ruling frustrated the bid of Pervez Elahi to become the Punjab CM. He was the PTI's candidate for the chief ministership. Having bagged 186 votes against Hamza's 179, Elahi lost the contest as his own party's ten votes were declared invalid.
Challenging the deputy speaker's ruling, PTI leader Raja Basharat said Shujaat is not authorised to take such a decision for his party under Article 63A as Sajid Bhatti is PML-Q's parliamentary leader.
Following the election, the PTI's and PML-Q's parliamentary parties discussed Mazari’s ruling and decided to challenge it in court the same day. Later, they reached the apex court's Lahore registry and submitted their petition.
Earlier, Deputy registrar SC Lahore registry Ijaz Goraya reached the court and received their application.
