Lawmaker Investigated
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A Tennessee lawmaker who narrowly escaped being ousted from House leadership earlier this month is resigning as majority whip.
Republican state Rep. Jeremy Durham of Franklin told colleagues of his decision on Sunday.
The move comes the same day the Tennessean newspaper reported three women who work at the Legislature received inappropriate text messages from the married lawmaker.
Previous revelations included that Durham in 2014 wrote a character reference on behalf of a youth pastor who pleaded guilty to a federal child porn possession, and that prosecutors earlier that year sought prescription fraud charges against the lawmaker. A grand jury declined to bring an indictment against Durham.
The whip is in charge of incumbents’ re-election efforts, and some Republicans worried that Durham remaining in that role could make donors skittish.
