NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two key GOP lawmakers – the chairman and a member of the state House committee that oversees the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – recently warned the agency that it could face “unnecessary political fallout” if it does not end its criminal probe into the troubled Millersville Police Department.
The warning was delivered Oct. 10 in a four-page letter to TBI Director David Rausch by Rep. Bud Hulsey, a Kingsport Republican who chairs the House Criminal Justice Committee. Rep. Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, also signed the letter.
Hulsey and Fritts, who both noted their committee assignments in signing the unprecedented letter, urged Rausch to return all materials seized during raids last month of Millersville police offices, as well as the home of Assistant Police Chief Shawn Taylor.
“It would be in everyone’s best interest for the TBI to assist, rather than obstruct, the Millersville Police Department in their ongoing criminal investigations,” the letter concluded. “Doing so would not only be the right course of action, but it would also help preserve the integrity of the TBI and avoid unnecessary political fallout.”
Click on image below to read letter:
The letter was obtained by NewsChannel 5 from the TBI through a public records request following some recent claims by Taylor that he had the support of state lawmakers.
On Oct. 15, according to records produced by the TBI, Director Rausch responded with his own letter to Hulsey and Fritts in which he appeared to stop just short of accusing the two lawmakers of attempting to interfere in the investigation.
He noted that their concerns “seemed to be based on statements made to you by Shawn Taylor himself and from other unknown sources.“
“The Bureau was created in its current structure to eliminate it from political pressure and control,” Rausch continued. “Regardless of whatever perceptions are propagated, the professionalism and integrity of the Bureau will not be affected.
"I can assure you that TBI agents conducting this investigation will continue their work and be guided only by the facts and the law until their work is concluded.”
The TBI refused to comment on an on-going investigation, and Hulsey declined NewsChannel 5’s request for an interview about his letter to the TBI director.
Click on image below to read letter:
Instead, the Republican chairman released a statement in which he claimed he was only sharing his “personal concerns.” Hulsey insisted he had “complete faith in the TBI's professionalism and their ability to follow the investigation wherever the facts may lead.”
“In no way was it my intention to meddle or interfere, but rather to express my desire to protect the public interest and integrity of the investigation,” he claimed.
House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville questioned whether Hulsey was "trying to clean up his own mess."
"You never want to have an elected official interfering with state business of this import, but threatening 'unnecessary political fallout,' that's where they step over the line," he added.
House ethics rules prohibit any "abuse of [a] representative's official position, including, but not limited to, placing undue influence upon any state department, agency, court or governmental subdivision."
"Rep. Hulsey is the chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee — that's concerning in and of itself because that has direct oversight over the TBI," Clemmons noted. ""So the TBI knows that this chairman and member of the committee, they could really mess with that department if they so choose."
The TBI probe comes amid an ongoing NewsChannel 5 investigation that has exposed Shawn Taylor’s often-bizarre conspiracy theories. Taylor claims he has discovered a vast criminal network that stretches from Millersville, through the nation’s capital, to China.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates also revealed details about a botched child predator sting in which it appears that a Millersville detective may have committed perjury.
Hulsey and Fritts denounced NewsChannel 5’s stories as “intentionally misleading” and accused the TBI of allowing itself “to be manipulated by journalists with clear biases and political motivations.” They did not point to any inaccuracies in those reports.
Their letter argued that Taylor “was investigating real criminal matters.”
“The timing of the TBI’s actions, coming shortly after what appears to be a successful investigation by Taylor into significant criminal activity, raises concerns about whether this investigation is politically motivated,” Hulsey and Fritts wrote.
“You and I both know that it is only a matter of time before these facts are going to come out. How is it going to look when the TBI raided a small-town police department that was investigating voter fraud and election issues among other things…?”
In addition, the letter repeated claims by Taylor and his allies that Sumner County Circuit Court Judge Joe Thompson, who approved the TBI’s request for the search warrants, was a subject of one of the many corruption investigations that Taylor claims to have launched.
Taylor has never produced any evidence to back up such claims.
“The TBI’s reputation will suffer considerably if it continues to pursue this matter based on warrants that are legally flawed from the outset,” the two Republicans wrote.
Bizarrely, Taylor has also claimed – again, without evidence – that TBI officials are either involved in child sex trafficking themselves or protecting others who are. He also claimed that one of the agents involved in the searches was a potential target of his investigation.
Hulsey and Fritt also repeat Taylor’s more recent claims to be “both a state and federal whistleblower” – a talking point that was first broached during the summer by a conspiracy-minded attorney who wrote a letter to Millersville officials on Taylor’s behalf.
“Any further adverse actions in light of this whistleblower status will only intensify the scrutiny on the TBI and make it increasingly difficult to defend its involvement,” the letter said. They did not cite any actual law that would protect Taylor's activities.
The two lawmakers also claimed that Taylor “has indicated that he and other officers are in the process of engaging a team of high-profile lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Phil Williams and Channel 5 for knowingly disseminating false information.”
NewsChannel 5’s investigation has been based primarily on Taylor’s own words.
Millersville police officials have never pointed to any false statements in our reporting, nor have they ever requested a retraction of any of those reports.
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Do you have information that would help me with my investigation? Send me your tips: phil.williams@newschannel5.com
Here is how this investigation has unfolded:
May 20, 2024: Meet Millersville's conspiracy cop. He imagines sinister plots involving some of the country's most prominent political figures. Taylor recently landed in Millersville as assistant police chief, promising to root out the corruption he sees there.
You can continue reading at this hyperlink.
May 22, 2024: The controversy over Millersville's conspiracy cop has now become the latest scandal rocking the tiny town just north of Nashville. Now, two city commissioners want a special meeting to figure out how Shawn Taylor landed his job.
You can continue reading Part Two at this link.
May 24, 2024: An attorney for Millersville conspiracy cop Shawn Taylor has told Millersville's city commission, whom he also represents, that they should not question the assistant police chief's bizarre theories or psychological fitness.
You can read more of this installment at this link.
May 28, 2024: New podcast video, uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, reveals how Shawn Taylor spread false and dangerous conspiracy theories about last year's Covenant School shooting that left three students and three staff members dead.
You can click here to review that story.
May 28, 2024: Anna Caudill agreed to watch the video of Shawn Taylor knowing there might be only so much she could handle. Among the three children and three adults killed that day was her friend, Katherine Koonce.
You can read more of Anna's story by tapping on this link.
June 3, 2024: First, he went after Millersville’s former mayor. Now, the town’s assistant police chief says his two critics on the city commission could be next. Shawn Taylor made those comments as he turned to a group of far-right podcasters to defend himself. Tap this link to read from those Taylor's accused.
June 4, 2024: Millersville officials are standing with their assistant police chief and his bizarre conspiracy theories regarding Nashville's Covenant School shooting. Read how this meeting played out at this link.
June 5, 2024: Bryant Kroll wears a lot of hats. He's the attorney representing the embattled City of Millersville. He also represents Mayor Tommy Long, who faces accusations of misconduct in an ouster suit. Plus, he's the attorney for Bryan Morris and Shawn Taylor. To understand the role he plays, you can read that here.
June 6, 2024: In Shawn Taylor's world — in the immortal words of Taylor Swift — "I'm the problem, it's me." I explain how we got here in this piece, which you can click on here.
June 18, 2024: Millersville's conspiracy cop now has his very own conspiracy-minded attorney. Now, our NewsChannel 5 investigation has discovered that Todd Callender's own theories are sometimes even more far-fetched than Taylor’s twisted view of the world. Click here to read more about Shawn Taylor’s attorney.
July 15, 2024: What happens when you give people with bizarre conspiracy theories a gun and a badge? Secret recordings from inside the troubled Millersville Police Department provide a sobering answer to that question.
Read more on this investigation by tapping here.
July 22, 2024: In an explosive new development that could bring new trouble for the already-troubled Millersville Police Department, a key player in a child-predator sting says the lead detective on that operation lied under oath.
You can read more about that by clicking here.
July 23, 2024: District Attorney General Robert Nash has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the Millersville Police Department's handling of a child predator sting, including possible perjury by the lead detective. You can read more about that by tapping here.
July 29, 2024: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has expanded its probe of the embattled Millersville Police Department, now looking into allegations that officials may have used sensitive law enforcement data to investigate their political enemies.
Read more about that by clicking here.
August 5, 2024: With the Millersville Police Department now the focus of a TBI investigation, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has uncovered new questions about the stories that conspiracy cop Shawn Taylor tells about himself.
You can catch up on the investigation by tapping here.
August 12, 2024: In a perplexing pair of podcast interviews, the Millersville chief of police says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has begun limiting his department's access to certain sensitive law enforcement data. Read more about this latest development here.
August 26, 2024: He has helped to fuel some of the wild conspiracy theories inside the troubled Millersville Police Department. He is a self-proclaimed pedophile hunter who believes America is controlled by what he calls "a satanic cult masquerading as Jews."
Read more about Craig Sawyer by clicking here.
August 27, 2024: Craig Sawyer’s response to my investigation illustrates how conspiracy theorists frequently use wild accusations and blustery language to avoid giving real answers about their bizarre beliefs. Tap here to watch as we dissect his 90-minute diatribe.
September 4, 2024: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents raided the Millersville Police Department and Shawn Taylor’s home, executing a pair of search warrants as the criminal investigation into the troubled agency enters a dramatic new phase. Read more about this new twist in the Millersville investigation.
September 10, 2024: “No, a TBI agent didn't pee in Shawn Taylor's tub, agency says in response to Taylor's latest claim.” The headline says it all. Click here.
September 19, 2024: QAnon-aligned voices of the far right are threatening retaliation against a judge, a district attorney and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents for their roles in the recent Millersville raids. Details posted here.
October 7, 2024: A well-known Arizona election denier says his group — working through Millersville's conspiracy-minded assistant police chief — gained access to a highly confidential federal database that tracks Americans’ banking transactions and other financial data. Read the exclusive story here.