Kelsey temporarily steps down from post
Chairmanship decision comes after indictment
Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, Rgermantown, announced Wednesday afternoon he will temporarily step down as chair of the Senate Education Committee following his recent indictment in a federal campaign finance conspiracy.
During his speech Wednesday, Kelsey claimed his innocence.
“I am totally innocent,” he said. “I look forward to clearing my name through the judicial process.”
Kelsey was charged Monday with violating several campaign finance laws as part of a conspiracy to benefit his failed 2016 campaign for Congress. The 44-year-old sitting senator was charged along with Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith, 43.
The duo are accused of funneling soft money — funds not subject to limitations, prohibitions or reporting requirements under the Federal Election Campaign Act — from Kelsey’s state Senate campaign committee to his federal campaign.
The Tennessean first reported on the questionable transactions in 2017.
The senator, indicted Monday by a federal grand jury on campaign finance law violations, said Wednesday he believes he did not break the law.
“I understood I was operating within campaign finance rules, and I believe the donation at issue was legal,” he said.
Kelsey previously called the indictment a “political witch hunt” by President Joe Biden’s administration. The investigations started when Donald Trump was president, well before Biden’s presidency. In 2019, The Tennessean reported that Kelsey was the subject of a federal grand jury probe.
“I hope that you will agree that, for 17 years, I, like you, have always voted for what’s best for Tennesseans,” Kelsey told his fellow senators during the announcement on the Senate floor. “We must find a way, in state government and in our nation ... to move past this extremely divisive time and to not use political attacks on one another to discourage good people from running for office and for participating in our vital government process.”
Per Senate ethics rules, an indicted senator who chairs a committee may request a hearing from the Committee on Ethics to determine whether he should be suspended from his position. The senator would have 10 calendar days to do so. Otherwise, he or she would be suspended as long as the indictment is actively being pursued.
Kelsey has become an influential conservative voice on education issues and his decision to step down comes as the state embarks on a massive overhaul of how it funds K-12 education.
Kelsey sits on the steering committee appointed by the Lee administration to oversee efforts to come up with a possible replacement for the Basic Education
Program funding formula.
Lt. Gov. Randy Mcnally, R-oak Ridge, said he understands it is a “difficult time” for Kelsey and his family.
“I appreciate the action that you have taken today,” Mcnally said. “I think this will allow you to concentrate fully on your case and not be burdened with the issues of chairmanship.”
Sen. Frank Niceley, R-strawberry Plains, criticized federal campaign finance law and lamented how state lawmakers can’t use state campaign funds in federal races. He called the federal campaign finance law preventing straw donor schemes “purely self-serving.”
“I think the whole law is bad,” he said. “I don’t think I have a single contributor who would mind if I was 20 years younger ... running for Congress and using that money.”
Reporter Brett Kelman contributed to this report.
Reach Yue Stella Yu at yyu@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bystellayu_tnsn.