TBI raid included Nashville DA Glenn Funk's office, computers and briefcase, search documents reveal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An unprecedented raid of the Nashville District Attorney's Office in March included a search of DA Glenn Funk's own office — including his laptop, briefcase and other electronics — as TBI agents sought evidence of possible illegal wiretapping, according to newly unsealed court documents.

The search warrant and inventory of what was seized had been sealed, but Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Smith ordered the release of documents Tuesday in response to a motion filed by NewsChannel 5.

According to the inventory, agents copied a laptop computer belonging to Funk, as well as hard drives found in the DA's office and conference room. That's on top of numerous computers, servers, hard drives and other electronic devices that were listed on a four-page inventory of items seized or searched during the raid.

The search warrant indicates that TBI agents were looking for:

• "Handwritten, typed documents, and/or digital files documenting the monitoring of employees' movements and conversations within the office and/or away from the office."
• "Video and/or audio recordings related to the monitoring of employees' movements within the office of the District Attorney General and those with whom the employee is meeting and/or associated."
• "Any and all documentation of security system installation" and "physical inspection of all cameras" in spaces controlled by the DA's Office.
• "USB storage devices" that "could contain video surveillance of employees' movements and conversations within the office." Among the locations where agents expected to find such flash drives was "District Attorney General Glenn Funk's office, to include a briefcase" used by Funk.
• "Any video and/or audio recording of person(s) visiting the office where they could have been recorded without their consent when the expectation of privacy was presumed by those involved." That includes lobbies, hallways, offices, conference rooms and break rooms.
• Computer drives connected to specific employees, including Funk himself.

The raid of the DA's offices followed a NewsChannel 5 investigation that had raised questions about the presence of microphone-equipped cameras capable of recording conversations of people who don't know someone is listening.

Signs warned about video surveillance, but not audio surveillance, leading the state attorney general to open an investigation into whether the DA's office could be violating federal and state wiretapping laws.

Two sources have told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that they have told investigators about the possible presence of microphones in areas that Funk has not publicly acknowledged.

During the search, TBI agents were spotted using a device that, according to the manufacturer, is "designed to detect illicit eavesdropping signals."

Funk has denied any wrongdoing, comparing the cameras in his office to Ring doorbells that are commonly used in residential settings.