posted June 30, 2005
State Rep. Chris Clem said he will file a resolution to expel indicted
state Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland, from the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Rep. Clem, a Republican from Lookout Mountain, said he has 12 other Republican House members willing to sign on as co-sponsors of the resolution to expel Newton, who is one of four sitting lawmakers facing federal felony corruption charges stemming from the Operation Tennessee Waltz undercover sting in which FBI agents taped lawmakers accepting bribes from a front company seeking their help in passing a piece of legislation.
The Benton legislator said he will gauge public sentiment over the weekend and make a decision early next week whether or not to resign.
The state Republican Party earlier asked for his resignation.
Expulsion is different from impeachment. The state Constitution allows the legislature to impeach
governors, judges, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer. In an impeachment, the House votes to impeach (indict) and then the Senate votes to convict and remove from office. However, the state constitution does not allow impeachment of legislators.
Instead, the House is allowed to expel a House member and the Senate is
allowed to expel a Senate member. "That is exactly what this
House Resolution 167 seeks to do," Rep. Clem said.
Rep. Clem says Republicans in the House are right to take the lead in demanding that Newton, a fellow Republican, resign, and should expel him from the House if he refuses to resign.
"As you recall, it was Senate Republican Howard Baker and RNC Chairman George Bush who first approached Republican Nixon and asked for his resignation. Likewise, it was Democrat Ned McWhorter who first approached Democrat Gov. Ray Blanton and asked him to resign," said Rep. Clem. "It does not do much good for the opposing party to demand resignations. Each party (like
each legislative chamber) must first clean up its own mess."
Noting that Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Bob Davis has already
called for Newton's resignation, Rep. Clem said, "It certainly carries a lot more weight when the leadership of your own party calls for your resignation. Unfortunately, in the instant case the party affiliation
is a bit complicated. Chris Newton has been rumored for years to be
threatening to switch parties. He is a close confidant of Jimmy Naifeh. He
is one of Naifeh's chairmen. Newton has also opposed and thwarted Republican initiatives while at the same time attended Democrat leadership meetings.
"When State Republican Chairman Bob Davis asked Newton to resign, Chris was not very responsive. Likewise, as members sign onto this resolution to expel Chris from the House, Chris does not appear concerned. I am now convinced that Chris Newton would be more responsive if Democrat leadership approaches him to ask for his resignation," Rep. Clem said.
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