WASHINGTON – In a controversial decision, President Donald Trump has issued pardons for a former Tennessee House speaker and an ex-aide, both previously convicted on public corruption charges. The White House justified the pardons by claiming the Biden administration’s Justice Department had “significantly over-prosecuted” the two men for what it deemed a minor offense.

Glen Casada, a former Republican state representative, was handed a three-year prison sentence in September, while his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, received a 2 1/2-year sentence. The charges against them arose from their alleged involvement in a scheme to secure taxpayer-funded mailing contracts from legislators after their ousting from leadership positions.

This decision aligns with Trump’s recurring practice of granting pardons to political allies and high-profile individuals, some of whom have been convicted of defrauding the public. These pardons often challenge previous criminal convictions supported by the Justice Department.

The Trump administration’s actions have raised concerns about weakening public integrity safeguards. This includes the dismissal of the department’s pardon attorney and significant cuts to a prosecution unit designed to hold public officials accountable for misconduct.

Prosecutors revealed that Cothren established a company, Phoenix Solutions, with backing from Casada and then-Representative Robin Smith. They falsely represented the company as being operated by “Matthew Phoenix,” a fictitious identity. In 2020, companies associated with Casada and Smith received approximately $52,000 from a taxpayer-funded mailing program intended for lawmakers.

A “Matthew Phoenix” signature ended up on an IRS tax document. A purported associate of that fictitious person was portrayed by Casada’s then-girlfriend, prosecutors said.

That all followed Casada having resigned as speaker in 2019 after a no-confidence vote by fellow Republicans due to swirling scandals — including revelations that he exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women with Cothren years ago.

Cothren also left his post over those texts and racist texts, coupled with an admission that he used cocaine inside a legislative office building during a previous job.

A White House official said Thursday night that Trump approved the pardons for Casada and Cothren because the Department of Justice under Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, “significantly over-prosecuted these individuals for a minor issue.”

The official spoke on background to discuss a pardon that had not yet been publicly released, but said the case against Casada and Cothren involved constituent mailers, which were billed at competitive prices, and that the case was brought despite prosecutors not having received a complaint from legislators.

The scheme also resulted in a net profit loss of less than $5,000, said the official, who noted that the case featured an armed raid, perp walk and the potential for lengthy prison terms — things often more appropriate for federal cases involving frauds worth multiple millions of dollars.

Trump’s moves for Casada and Cothren follow him previously pardoning Democratic former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Republican ex-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal and two federal prison stints.

Trump also pardoned former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress after a tax fraud conviction and made headlines for threatening to throw a reporter off a Capitol balcony over a question he didn’t like. The president also pardoned reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who had been convicted of cheating banks and evading taxes.