{"id":1998538,"date":"2023-08-12T04:11:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T08:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-tennessee-state-senator-gets-21-month-prison-sentence-for-campaign-finance-cash-scheme\/"},"modified":"2023-08-12T04:12:24","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T08:12:24","slug":"former-tennessee-state-senator-gets-21-month-prison-sentence-for-campaign-finance-cash-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-tennessee-state-senator-gets-21-month-prison-sentence-for-campaign-finance-cash-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-TN Senator Receives 21-Month Jail Term for Campaign Finance Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-tennessee-state-senator-gets-21-month-prison-sentence-for-campaign-finance-cash-scheme%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1998538&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Former Tennessee State Senator Sentenced to Prison for Campaign Finance Charges<\/h2>\n<p>NASHVILLE, \u2063Tenn.\u2014In a dramatic turn of events, former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey has been sentenced\u2063 to 21 months \u200bin \u200cprison for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-hush-money-parallels-to-john-edwards-pave-difficult-road-to-felony-conviction\/\" title=\"Trump hush money parallels to John Edwards pave 'difficult' road to felony conviction\">federal campaign finance charges<\/a>. \u2064Kelsey, who initially dismissed the case \u2064as a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/n-y-rep-reed-considering-gubernatorial-run-to-challenge-gov-cuomo\/\" title=\"N.Y. Rep. Reed considering gubernatorial run to challenge Gov. Cuomo\">political witch hunt<\/a>,&#8221; attempted to retract his guilty plea but was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p>The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Nashville, where Kelsey \u2063was found guilty of attempting to divert campaign \u200bfunds from his legislative\u200d seat to support his unsuccessful 2016 congressional bid. However, he\u200b won&#8217;t begin serving his prison sentence until October.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/tennessee-governor-may-be-lighting-fire-with-coventry-shootings-special-session-5454204\">Tennessee Governor May Be Lighting\u2063 Fire With Covenant Shootings Special Session<\/a> &#8211; \u200d8\/9\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/cleanup-from-chemical-spill-and-fire-that-shut-down-i-24-in-tennessee-could-take-days-5445629\">Cleanup From Chemical Spill and Fire That Shut Down I-24 in Tennessee Could Take\u200c Days<\/a> &#8211; 8\/5\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/2-democratic-lawmakers-ousted-from-tennessee-house-in-april-reelected-5442020\">2 Democratic Lawmakers Ousted From Tennessee House in April Reelected<\/a> &#8211; \u200d8\/3\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/staff-training-program-at-tennessee-school-district-classifies-white-christian-heterosexual-men-as-privileged-5442045\">Staff Training Program at Tennessee School\u2064 District Classifies White, Christian, Heterosexual Men as &#8216;Privileged&#8217;<\/a> &#8211; 8\/3\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who presided over the case, emphasized the need for a sentence that sends a message of general deterrence.\u200c Crenshaw stated, &#8220;I do think there&#8217;s a need to sentence you that \u200dsends a message for general deterrence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey&#8217;s plea to \u2062withdraw his guilty plea \u200cwas based on \u200dpersonal circumstances, including \u2062his father&#8217;s terminal pancreatic cancer and the birth of his twin sons. However, the court denied his request, leading\u2064 to the sentencing.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to his guilty plea, Kelsey had maintained his innocence, often \u2064claiming that he was being targeted by Democrats. However, he changed his stance after his co-defendant, Joshua Smith, pleaded guilty and agreed \u2062to cooperate with federal authorities. Smith received a sentence of five \u200dyears of probation.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, federal prosecutors accused Kelsey of intentionally delaying his sentencing by changing his legal defense team.<\/p>\n<p>The courtroom was filled with Kelsey&#8217;s friends and family, who were visibly emotional as \u2063Crenshaw explained the reasons behind the 21-month prison sentence. Kelsey expressed remorse, \u2064stating, &#8220;I\u2019m truly sorry for the actions that\u2062 led me here today. I \u2064knew I \u200cwas taking a risk and\u200b yet \u200bI did it anyway \u200cand in doing so,\u200c I broke the law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Initially, prosecutors had requested 41 months of prison time, portraying Kelsey as a \u200b&#8221;sophisticated mastermind&#8221; behind a complex campaign scheme. However, Kelsey&#8217;s attorneys argued that he had only crossed a &#8220;very small line&#8221; and that the government sought a harsher punishment due to his perceived lack of remorse.<\/p>\n<p>Crenshaw noted that out of the four character witnesses, only one mentioned Kelsey&#8217;s regret for his actions. Former Democratic state Rep. John DeBerry, who worked closely with Kelsey in the Tennessee Statehouse, stated, &#8220;Life is about \u2062living with consequences. When we\u2064 lose ourselves, you forget you got to\u2063 do it the \u200dright \u2062way every time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In October 2021, Kelsey and Smith were indicted on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-tennessee-state-senator-gets-21-month-prison-sentence-for-campaign-finance-cash-scheme\/\" title=\"Ex-TN Senator Receives 21-Month Jail Term for Campaign Finance Fraud\">multiple counts\u2063 related<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-gives-pardons-to-73-individuals-and-commutes-another-70-sentences-steve-bannon-is-included\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump Gives Pardons to 73 Individuals and Commutes Another 70 Sentences \u2013 Steve Bannon Is Included\">campaign finance violations<\/a>. The\u2064 indictment alleged that they illegally concealed the transfer \u2062of funds from Kelsey&#8217;s campaign committee and a nonprofit organization to a national political organization.\u200b Prosecutors claimed that \u200dKelsey \u2064and others\u200d coordinated on advertisements and caused \u2063the nonprofit to file false reports to the Federal Election Commission.<\/p>\n<p>One of the co-conspirators, former Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Durham, cooperated with federal officials and has \u2063not \u200dfaced any charges. Kelsey&#8217;s attorney argued that since Durham wasn&#8217;t facing\u200d prison\u2063 time, their client shouldn&#8217;t either. However, Crenshaw disagreed, highlighting the early cooperation of Durham and others with\u2062 federal authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Kelsey, a 45-year-old attorney from Germantown, was first \u200belected to the \u2062General Assembly in 2004.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Tennessee state senator, Brian Kelsey, was sentenced to 21 months in prison after attempting to retract his guilty plea on campaign finance charges. Initially dismissing the case as a &#8220;political witch hunt,&#8221; Kelsey received his sentence in Nashville&#8217;s U.S. District Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":1998539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1998538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1998538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1998539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1998538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1998538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1998538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}