Tennessee campaign finance officials blast AG, calling deferral of inquiry an abdication

Members of Tennessee’s Registry of Election Finance on Tuesday accused Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti of sluggish and inadequate handling of campaign finance investigations, calling his approach “an abdication of responsibility.”

The registry oversees campaign finance in Tennessee and criticism arose from an investigation requested by members into a complaint against two groups that are not registered as political action committees, but are allegedly engaging in typical PAC activities.

A registry complaint filed in January alleged that the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans and Tennessee Constitutional Republicans — both run by Gallatin resident Kurt Riley — are unregistered PACs, which have solicited donations and made expenditures to support or oppose candidates outside of following campaign finance laws.

In February, the registry board requested the Attorney General's Office investigate the complaint, providing 57 pages of documentation to Skrmetti’s office. Five months later, Skrmetti’s office produced a five-page investigative report. The investigation included seven interviews and a review of relevant organizational websites.

One section of the report focuses on the Republican primary in Senate District 18.

Chris Spencer, who is running against Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile in the race, has sent campaign mailers touting his founding membership of the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans group. Sumner County Constitutional Republicans has endorsed him in the race.

According to the AG's investigative report, Spencer told a state investigator that the organization is "not a PAC" and said that the group does not collect money. When asked about the group's monthly meetings and refreshments provided, he said, "I am done with questions. This is such a waste of time."

In a letter accompanying the report, Deputy Attorney General Andrew Coulam noted that the office “is not an investigative agency” but rather “a law firm with only three investigators who specialize in consumer and Medicaid fraud investigations” to support consumer protections and false Medicaid claims. Coulam noted the time goal for registry referrals is 90 days.

“If the Registry is not satisfied with this timeline, please keep in mind that its referrals to this Office are optional, not mandatory,” Coulam wrote.

On Tuesday, registry member Tom Lawless said the AG’s response “probably isn’t worth the postage they used to send it.”

“He’s ignoring us,” Lawless said.

“I’m a little distraught with the Attorney General’s Office just saying not ‘no,’ but ‘you’re not important enough,” he added.

Registry members voted Tuesday to subpoena all interested parties in an effort and seek to do a more thorough investigation of its own.

“To tell us that we should just sit and wait until they get around to it really strikes the wrong tone,” registry board chair Hank Fincher said. “It really did seem like an abdication of responsibility.”

Lawless noted a $13 million funding increase for the Attorney General’s Office approved by the legislature this year.

“If their $13 million increase in the attorney general’s budget is not used for investigators, maybe they’ll share some of it with us,” Lawless said.

Registry members considered reaching out to the AG's office for a further explanation of the response. But, member Paz Haynes said, "the abdication is the explanation."

Other cases that might have been candidates for an AG investigation were not referred to Skrmetti’s office Tuesday, as members noted that such an action “doesn’t seem to be an option.”

Since his appointment to the post, Skrmetti has represented the state in more high-profile political legal battles than his recent predecessors on both sides of the aisle ― challenging federal COVID-19 mandates, joining with Republican attorneys general in opposing federal Title IX rulemaking, and helping lead a federal antitrust lawsuit to break up LiveNation/Ticketmaster.

His political legal advocacy is widely hailed by Republicans in the legislature and Gov. Bill Lee as an asset to the state. But Lawless — himself an appointee of the Senate Republican Caucus — has been a sharp critic of Skrmetti’s political pursuits, which he called “windmill battles” during the meeting.

“Perhaps if we were having more sex appeal in the things that we do here, and the attorney general realized that he could get a new headline, he’d be all over it,” Lawless said. “But what he simply said is, ‘I’m too busy to assist a legally constituted board of the State of Tennessee for something involving the State of Tennessee.’”

Fincher said the registry’s comparatively limited resources could constrain investigative efforts, but said he is confident that the body ― which effectively handled campaign finance allegations against former Rep. Jeremy Durham ― would be effective.

“We don’t have enough to get additional investigators, auditors, or anything like that — or even upgrade our computer systems — but he got $13 million added to the budget," Fincher said.

Skrmetti's office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee campaign finance officials blast AG, calling deferral of inquiry an abdication