after he unsuccessfully tried to take back his guilty plea on federal campaign finance charges and initially described the case as a “political witch hunt.”
Before that, Kelsey had pleaded not guilty — often saying he was being targeted by Democrats. But he changed his mind shortly after his co-defendant, Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith, pleaded guilty to one count under a deal that required him to “cooperate fully and truthfully” with federal authorities. Smith was sentenced Friday to five years of probation.
“I’m truly sorry for the actions that led me here today,” Kelsey told the court. “I knew I was taking a risk and yet I did it anyway and in doing so, I broke the law.” Yet Crenshaw noted that out of the four character witnesses who provided testimony that day, only one — former Democratic state Rep. John DeBerry — mentioned that Kelsey was regretful of his actions.
Prosecutors allege that Kelsey and others caused the organization to make illegal and excessive campaign contributions to Kelsey by coordinating on advertisements, and that they caused the nonprofit to file false reports to the Federal Election Commission.
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