The indictment is scathing.
Six counts, including Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds, Honest Services Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, and Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering Enterprises.
Those are the charges leveled by the United States Attorney of the Western District of Tennessee against Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer.
An indictment, of course, is nothing more than an accusation based on allegations leveled by prosecuting attorneys to a Grand Jury without any evidence presented by defense counsel. The reality, however, is that those accused, especially public officials, are rarely afforded the presumption of innocence. Instead, the assumption is that the official is guilty, and for some, even acquittal is unconvincing.
More concerning for the accused than public opinion is the power wielded by the Department of Justice. The investigation is handled by arguably the most sophisticated and capable investigative organization in the world, the FBI. More than ninety percent of federal defendants plead guilty, rather than risk a guilty verdict and the generally much harsher trial penalty.
Things don’t look good for Tami Sawyer by any objective standard, but she deserves the benefit of the doubt, not the jeering, taunting, and celebrating by those whose President is a 34-time convicted felon and an adjudicated rapist. This is not an attempt to deflect through a series of “whataboutisms.” Instead, it is defense of decency, fairness, and the actual rule of law.
Sawyer is a fierce champion for the causes in which she believes – so fierce she hasn’t just stepped on toes; she’s stomped on them. The lame includes the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the alt-right who are still seething at Sawyer’s campaign to remove the statue of slave trader, perpetrator of the Fort Pillow massacre, and Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest from what is now Health Sciences Park. A campaign she won.
That effort subjected Sawyer to literal death threats, threats of sexual assault, racial slurs, and accusations most people could not endure. In fact, Sawyer even lamented on her social media that the barrage of attacks had taken a toll on her mental health. This level of harassment continued throughout her tenure as a Shelby County Commissioner.
In October of last year, Sawyer was involved in an altercation with Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies at the courthouse over Sawyer’s personal security guard attempting to carry a firearm into the courthouse. Sawyer confronted the deputies with a salvo of expletives that was recorded by the deputies’ body-worn cameras and, of course, promptly found its way to local media via Republican State Senator Brent Taylor. The entire incident involving the security guard and confrontation by Sawyer lasted 52 minutes, but Taylor only shared the two minutes of Sawyer’s comments on social media. An internal investigation by the Sheriff's Office found that the deputies acted professionally and consistently with their training. An investigation of Sawyer was turned over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which did not find sufficient evidence of a crime for the District Attorney to file charges.
Following that incident and since the recent indictment, local Republican party officials called for Sawyer’s resignation—not a surprise. Faltering and desperate GOP gubernatorial candidate, Congressman John Rose, issued a statement identifying Sawyer’s office incorrectly and calling for more state intervention into Shelby County. What actually happened is that the General Sessions Court judges suspended Sawyer with pay pending the outcome of the indictment, which has precedent and is fair.
Also unsurprising is that the “kick’em-when-they’re-down” communications strategy of Republicans only applies to their perceived enemies, not their allies. Just last year, when County Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. was indicted for tax evasion and bribery, Republicans remained mum, and when he pleaded guilty this past February, nothing but crickets. It is notable that Ford worked with Senator Taylor to falsely accuse District Attorney General Steve Mulroy as a part of Taylor’s obsession with removing him from office. Ford also rallied with the Republicans to welcome the Memphis Safe Task Force and the National Guard to Memphis, deployed by President Trump and Governor Bill Lee at the behest of U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn. Don’t be surprised if Ford is eventually pardoned.
Even more recently, Republicans looked the other way when Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman was arrested at the Wolfchase Galleria for shoplifting. Wissman maintained from the beginning that the incident was a misunderstanding and eventually the District Attorney agreed and declined to prosecute. Wissman was given the benefit of the doubt, and the system was allowed to work without calls for his resignation. On a side note: No one in the GOP screamed the DA was being soft on crime when he declined to prosecute Wissman.
In 2021, when Republican State Senator Brian Kelsey was indicted for unlawfully funneling money to his congressional campaign account, Republican leaders stayed quiet, except for Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. McNally said:
“I am obviously saddened by this news. It is important to remember that under our laws, Senator Kelsey is innocent until proven guilty. He will have the opportunity to answer this indictment in the coming days. I have confidence in our judicial system and will reserve judgment and comment at this point in order to allow the process to unfold.”[Emphasis added]
Kelsey eventually pleaded guilty, then attempted to take back his guilty plea, essentially claiming his Georgetown Law degree didn’t prepare him well enough to understand what his guilty plea meant. The judge didn’t buy it, and Kelsey was sent to federal prison. Two weeks later, he was pardoned by President Trump.
There is never an adequate excuse for public corruption. Public officials should be held to a higher standard because they are granted a sacred trust by the voters who elect them. If the accusations against Sawyer are proven, and she is convicted, I, and many others, will be disappointed, but she should be held accountable. Until then, she deserves the same rights and opportunities to stand up a defense provided to Kelsey, Wissman, and Ford, Jr. without the heckling and harassing of political opportunists.