Tennessee campaign finance official questions AG’s Office investigation

A member of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance is criticizing the Tennessee Attorney General's Office. (Photo: John Partipilo)

A Tennessee Registry of Election Finance board member is criticizing an Attorney General’s Office investigation into two Constitutional Republicans groups, challenging the veracity of its report and raising questions about possible bias.

“They did not do even a remotely close to thorough investigation. They just went through the motions,” Registry board member Tom Lawless said this week.

An appointee of the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus, Lawless said he plans to call for leaders of the Sumner County and Tennessee Constitutional Republicans to come before the board and explain how they’re operating without registering with the state as a political action committee. The board is set to meet July 23 at the Tennessee Tower.

The investigation, which involved seven interviews and a review of websites, took nearly five months, drawing irritation from Lawless who asked during a public meeting earlier this year why it was taking so long. The Registry board requested the probe in early February and received the report in late June.

The AG’s Office report provides no analysis or overview on whether the groups are acting as political action committees. It was also accompanied by a letter notifying the Registry that the AG’s Office is not an “investigative” body and that it could look for other options if dissatisfied.

Members of the two Constitutional Republicans groups denied raising or spending money as a political action committee in interviews with the Attorney General’s Office, saying they acted only as individuals when they picked and supported candidates for political races.

Chris Spencer, a co-founder of the Sumner County group and a candidate in Senate District 18, told a state investigator the organization wasn’t a PAC and after being asked about refreshments provided for monthly meetings, said, “I am done with questions. This is such a waste of time.”

Spencer is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Ferrell Haile of Gallatin. Lawless would not say whether he believes the AG’s Office is siding with Spencer by producing a weak report but said he has spoken with members of Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s staff who told him the atmosphere is “so political (that) people are bailing.”

The AG’s Office did not respond to Lookout questions about the report or politicizing investigations.

In the attorney general’s investigation, Kurt Riley, a founder of the groups, maintained that all money generated through the sale of Tennessee Constitutional Republicans merchandise goes to the group and “does not benefit candidates of any platform.”

The Registry of Election Finance requested the probe in response to a sworn complaint by Goodlettsville businessman Wes Duenkel, who claimed the groups are operating as political action committees without filing with the state.

The attorney general’s investigator found endorsements for political candidates on the web pages for Sumner County Constitutional Republicans and Tennessee Constitutional Republicans, as well as a nine-member vetting committee that used background checks and held monthly meetings.

The Sumner County group’s chairman, Riley, paid for the web page, and the state’s investigator found that both websites had a “donate” link that had been removed, according to the investigation.

Riley, also the registered agent for Tennessee Conservative Republicans, said he believes the groups are being “confused” with his former PAC, Sumner County Republican Assembly, which is no longer operating.

He contended the Sumner County group doesn’t collect money as donations but will accept voluntary contributions to buy breakfast for monthly meetings.

In one instance, a member of the Sumner County group wanted to hire a private investigator to vet a potential candidate and did it on their own, Riley told the investigator.

A leader of both the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans and the Tennessee Constitutional Republicans denies his groups are operating as political action committees, despite that the organizations spent money to support or oppose multiple candidates for office.

Duenkel filed the sworn complaint in January after finding out the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans endorsed county school board candidates and recruited people who aligned with their philosophy, in addition to offering “financial support” and advice on winning elections. He also pointed out the group held election night watch parties with food and drink and found that the group’s Facebook page had video of actor/celebrity Kirk Cameron promoting the group.

In his November 2023 complaint, Duenkel claimed the two groups qualify as a “multicandidate political action committee,” making expenditures to support or oppose two or more candidates for public office or two or more measures in an election involving referendums.

His filing presented documentation showing Riley saying one of the groups had existed since 2018 and since its inception had sent out requests for donations and saying it spent “an incredible amount of time working to advance conservatism,” by designing stickers and other merchandise and hiring private investigators to vet candidates.

Sumner County Constitutional Republicans endorsed Todd Kerr, Marie Mobley, Tracy Finegan, Timothy Crowder and Josh Graham for school board seats this year, in addition to Spencer for Senate District 18 and General Sessions Judge Russ Edwards.

The group opposes Haile, a Gallatin Republican, and sent out mailers showing donations to his campaign from drug companies and medical groups.

It gained strength in Sumner County politics over the last few years, endorsing 14 of 17 county commissioners who won 2022 races and backing winning school board candidates. It also worked to remove books from school libraries and pushed a vote to insert the words “Judeo-Christian” into a guiding document for the Sumner County Commission’s work.

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