Tennessee GOP House Speaker Won’t Resign After Chief Of Staff Quits In Racism, Sexism, And Cocaine Scandal

The Tennessean reports:

House Speaker Glen Casada said Tuesday he will not resign from his leadership position, despite participating in sexually charged text messages with his now former chief of staff.

Speaking to WTN’s Brian Wilson, the Franklin Republican said he had no intentions to step down, adding, “I’m sorry that I did it and I’m embarrassed that I did it.”

Casada’s comments come after the Tennessean published a story featuring text messages sent from a cellphone number associated with Cade Cothren, Casada’s now former top aide and the Republican lawmaker. On Tuesday, Casada downplayed the remarks as locker room talk between two adult men.

USA Today reports that the text messages included “soliciting oral sex and naked photos from an intern” and “calling Metro police officers who gave him parking tickets ‘rent a cop cocksuckers.'”

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Cothren and Casada are also involved in a bizarre saga in which they allegedly framed black student activist Justin Jones for violating a no contact order and doctoring an email supposedly sent by Jones.

“You have some of the most powerful people in this state who are willing to file a false report and to file a false paperwork and to manipulate paperwork to take your freedom away,” Jones told News Channel 5. “That’s something that’s scary.”