Lawmakers say corruption is rare despite Newton’s claims

NASHVILLE (AP) — Leading lawmakers said corruption is rare and hard to find at the Capitol, countering the claim by a colleague who pleaded guilty in the Tennessee Waltz investigation that what he did is “business as usual in Nashville.”

Earlier Tuesday, East Tennessee Republican Chris Newton pleaded guilty on federal corruption charges of taking $750 to influence legislation being pushed by FBI undercover operatives. He is the first of five current or former lawmakers charged in the case to plead guilty.

But it was Newton’s comments after his admission of guilt that left lawmakers shaking their heads.

“There’s plenty of business in Nashville that I take issue with,” said Senate majority floor leader Roy Herron, D-Dresden. “But I think that when at least 19 out of 20 legislators don’t operate that way, it is simply unfair to cast aspersions on the rest of us in defending his own indefensible behavior.”

Rep. Mike Turner, D-Old Hickory, said he’s never been offered a bribe and said federal investigators probably had an idea which lawmakers would take money.

“Nobody’s ever offered me anything like that,” he said.

But Turner did say some business interests do have too much power in the Legislature, echoing comments from Newton.

Newton, after pleading guilty, said, “It is time for us to acknowledge candidly that the legislative process has become saturated with money and special interests.”

Turner agreed in part, saying he has seen business interests kill bills before they even have a chance at a fair hearing.

“There are some … up here that have an inordinate amount of power,” he said.

Turner wouldn’t specify who he was talking about, but said he has seen some “collusion behind the scenes with lobbyists.”

House Republican caucus chairman Charles Sargent, R-Franklin, said he isn’t sure what Newton was referring to in his comments.

“I don’t see where it is saturated with money, but maybe I am oblivious to a lot of that,” He said. “I think most legislators are up here to do a good job.”

Lawmakers are grappling with reforms in the wake of the federal sting, and ongoing hearings are working toward new laws that could shed light on money lobbyists spend on lawmakers and tighten ethics oversight.

“I do think that there are reforms that many of us have wanted for a long time that may now be possible because of these tragedies,” Herron said. “The challenge for the General Assembly now is to take the awful things and bring good to them.”