TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Sep 10, 2020

Former Rep. Jeremy Durham asked the Davidson County Chancery Court on Friday to review a state agency’s decision to impose a record $465,000 fine against him over misuse of campaign funds, the Tennessean reports. Durham has been under federal investigation since at least August 2016 for campaign finance issues and a possible tax violation and in September 2016 was expelled from the legislature after an investigation found he had inappropriate sexual contact with at least 22 women. The Registry of Election Finance levied the hefty fine against Durham in 2017 after it found he had broken state campaign finance law hundreds of times, spending thousands of dollars of donor money on everything from custom suits to spa products. In June, the Registry of Election Finance overturned a 2019 opinion from Administrative Law Judge Steve Darnell that dropped the fine down to $110,000. The state has not yet responded to Durham’s filing, but the Attorney General’s Office confirmed it would represent the registry.