Who's who in the criminal trial of a former Tennessee House speaker and his onetime top aide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The former Tennessee House speaker and his onetime chief of staff are facing a federal criminal trial this week, where some old colleagues will be less friendly on the witness stand than others.

The trial of former Republican Rep. Glen Casada and his former aide, Cade Cothren, promises to include testimony from current and former lawmakers and staffers, some for the government, others for the defense. Jury selection was beginning Tuesday and the trial could take weeks.

The case accuses the two of running a political mailing group House Republicans hired with taxpayer money without knowing Cothren was behind the firm. Casada and Cothren hid Cothren's involvement to land the business after the two had been pressured out of their leadership roles in a preceding political scandal, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Cothren created an alter ego to run the company — Matthew Phoenix, of Phoenix Solutions.

The two face a 20-count indictment for charges including bribery, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in prison. After multiple delays, the trial comes three years after they were charged and almost six years after they resigned from their top statehouse posts.

Federal prosecutors plan to call about 15 witnesses, including House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Sexton, who succeeded Casada and helped federal authorities in their investigation, is expected to testify. So is former Rep. Robin Smith, who took a plea deal in the scheme. Some lawmakers have been subpoenaed for the defense, according to news reports.

Attorneys for Casada and Cothren have said lawmakers got the political services they paid for, so the secrecy about the firm's ownership isn't a crime.

Casada, a Republican from Williamson County south of Nashville, became House speaker in January 2019. Cothren rose through the legislative staff ranks to become his chief of staff.

Casada notably left the voting board open during a key vote to pass a school voucher program, waiting until one vote flipped so the bill would pass. The discussions to try to convince lawmakers to switch to “yes” created wide speculation about what was promised.

Casada resigned from the top leadership post in August 2019 after a no-confidence vote from fellow House Republicans due to swirling scandals, including revelations he exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women years ago with Cothren. Not long before that, Cothren also left his post over those texts and racist texts, coupled with an admission he used cocaine inside a legislative office building when he held a previous job.

In January 2021, FBI agents searched the homes, legislative offices or both of Casada, Cothren, Smith and other statehouse figures. Casada remained a state representative until 2022, when he didn't seek reelection.

Casada and Cothren were indicted in August 2022, a few months after Smith pleaded guilty.

The charging documents say Cothren launched Phoenix Solutions with Smith’s and Casada’s “knowledge and support” to offer mail and consulting services to lawmakers. Cothren registered the company in New Mexico because the state allows anonymous registration of LLCs, and rebuffed requests for in-person meetings with Casada’s fellow lawmakers, saying the company representatives were out of state, prosecutors allege.

All three claimed the firm was run by a “Matthew Phoenix," as Phoenix Solutions and companies controlled by Casada and Smith received roughly $52,000 in 2020 from the state in payments associated with the taxpayer funded mailer program for lawmakers, the indictment says.

Smith resigned and pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge in the Phoenix Solutions scheme in March 2022. Smith, who had served as a Republican House member from Hixson since 2018, “will testify about her unlawful agreement" with Casada and Cothren, prosecutors said. She will be sentenced after the trial.

Smith told multiple Republican lawmakers in 2020 that “Matthew Phoenix and his associate, Candice, got tired of living in the Washington, D.C. area and decided to move back home to New Mexico, where Phoenix started Phoenix Solutions," prosecutors wrote. Candice was portrayed by Casada's then-girlfriend, they said.

Cothren paid Casada and Smith more than $35,000 in bribes and kickbacks, the indictment says. Prosecutors have text messages between Smith and Cothren about his use of the Matthew Phoenix alias.

Sexton has said he has assisted federal authorities in the investigation since becoming speaker in 2019. Sexton was among the lawmakers and staffers who testified to the grand jury. Prosecutors say he will testify at trial about the requirements of the postage and printing allowance of $3,000 per House lawmaker.

Cothren's attorneys have claimed he helped Sexton in multiple ways after Cothren resigned, including in Sexton's 2019 bid for speaker, an attempt to undermine the premise that House Republicans opposed using Cothren's services due to his prior scandals. The judge approved subpoenas for Sexton's phone records related to the claim.

Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, center, arrives at the federal courthouse Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Cade Cothren, the former chief of staff to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, right, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Cynthia Sherwood, right, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, center, arrives at the federal courthouse Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Cade Cothren, the former chief of staff to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, arrives at the federal courthouse Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, center, arrives at the federal courthouse Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FILE - In this May 2, 2019, file photo, House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, left, talks with Cade Cothren, right, his chief of staff, during a House session in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, center, gets into a car as he leaves the Federal Courthouse Aug. 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

FILE - Cade Cothren, the former chief of staff to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, leaves Federal Court Aug. 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)