Bredesen: Briley should drop chairmanship

Bredesen said his fellow Nashville Democrat is ‘a good man who’s obviously got himself in a lot of trouble.’

Briley, 40, was arrested Saturday after police said he took them on a 100 mph chase and failed a roadside sobriety test. Police said they found an empty bottle of whisky in Briley’s car and later charged him with vandalism for damage done to the back of a police cruiser.

‘Stepping back from the leadership positions I think is an appropriate thing to do, and I hope he would consider doing that while he sorts these things out,’ Bredesen said.

Bredesen acknowledged that House rules say lawmakers are only required to step down from leadership posts if they are indicted on felony charges.

‘It’s the governor’s personal opinion that Rep. Briley should focus on getting better and ought to consider shedding some of these responsibilities to focus on that,’ Bredesen’s spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said.

Briley told The Tennessean newspaper that he is getting treatment at Cumberland Heights, an alcohol and drug treatment center, and that he has no recollection of any of the day’s events.

Briley said he had no idea why he was in the area when he rear-ended a pickup in Dowellton. Police say he fled that accident before being spotted by a Watertown officer.

Briley said he listed the lobbyist for the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association as his contact person after his arrest because he wanted her to represent him in the DUI case.

‘In the state that I was in, I wanted to make one phone call to one person that could connect me to the resources I needed in Wilson County,’ Briley said. ‘That was the person that came to mind knowing that she works with and for trial lawyers who do criminal defense work.’

The lobbyist, Mary Littleton, told the paper she saw no conflict of interest in representing Briley even though her professional responsibilities include lobbying Briley’s committee.