Tennessean investigation finds inappropriate text messages

Tennessee Republican leaders were told of a potential sexual harassment complaint about House Majority Whip Jeremy Durham’s behavior about a week before an unprecedented House GOP caucus meeting to decide the fate of his leadership role, but the specific concerns were never disclosed to his fellow legislators, Republican lawmakers confirmed.

The news comes amid a Tennessean investigation into inappropriate text messages from Durham to three women who worked at the statehouse. Durham said Friday he does not remember sending the messages.

Tennessee sexual harassment policy mired in secrecy, experts say

The incidents point to a legislative sexual harassment policy experts have said is mired in secrecy and contributes to an environment where sexual harassment by the state’s elected leaders can go essentially unchecked.

The text messages

The three women who told The Tennessean about text messages from Durham they felt were inappropriate said they never considered filing a formal complaint. 

They said they feared retribution and spoke to The Tennessean only on the condition of anonymity. They worried that a complaint would be useless, even though officials have encouraged anyone with concerns to come forward. 

Two women provided copies of texts they received from Durham. The Tennessean verified the texts were sent to the women from Durham’s cellphone number. The third described the text messages she received.

One woman in her mid-20s, who worked in various capacities at the statehouse, said during the 2013 legislative session, Durham repeatedly sent text messages and Facebook messages, sometimes late into the night. 

One text message, after 10 p.m., says he misses her.  

In another text, at about 1:30 a.m., Durham asks her for pictures.

She said she never felt comfortable to tell another lawmaker or human resources about Durham’s behavior. 

“I go tell someone in HR, oh, this representative did this to me, you know,” the woman said.  “I mean, I know those things are supposed to be anonymous, and no one’s supposed to know who it was. But someone would have known by the time I walked back across the street to the plaza.”

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A second woman, in her early 20s whose work required her to be at the statehouse, also said she received dozens of text messages from Durham during the 2013 session and after. A text from Durham, sent at about 1 a.m., asks the woman for pictures. 

“For me, I was just trying to engage professionally, from one professional to another. And he crossed the line: You don’t text and constantly message on Facebook and ask to meet up at bars in the evening,” the woman said. 

“He would come up with these ideas and I would just be like, ‘Are you crazy?’ ”

After The Tennessean described the text messages to Durham, he said he did not remember sending any of the messages.

“Not having seen the texts, not knowing who the other party to the conversation is, when they were sent, what exactly they say, whether I was responding or initiating the text stream, it is simply impossible to respond,” Durham said in an email Friday.

“Furthermore, the fact that there has never been a complaint filed makes me question your continued use of anonymous and unverified sources.”

The Tennessean verified the text messages were sent from Durham’s cellphone. The women provided the messages on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from Durham.

The state will not confirm whether any sexual harassment complaints have been filed.

People who have worked at Tennessee’s statehouse say the General Assembly, for some, is a party atmosphere.

“There are a lot of people who go to the legislature, leave home and act like they’re on their college trips,” said a former GOP lawmaker. 

A longtime lobbyist said that the environment is better than it was when she started in the early 2000s.

But it’s still a culture that’s tolerant of at times boorish, eyebrow-raising behavior.

“There aren’t any rules and it’s a boys club,” she said. “I sort of consented to that by working down there.”

The lobbyist added that even if she had a problem with the behavior of a lawmaker or a legislative employee, she wouldn’t file a formal complaint. 

“There’s not a process — I don’t know what it would be.”

What lawmakers knew

Rep. David Alexander, R-Winchester, said a woman contacted him about Durham’s behavior about a week before the Jan. 12 meeting where GOP caucus members were set to discuss Durham’s future in leadership.

“The words she used were sexual harassment,” Alexander said.

She “seemed very determined” to discuss her concerns at the meeting, he said, but she did not disclose specific details.

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Alexander said he knew he needed to notify others about the woman’s call. He referred the woman to Connie Ridley, head of legislative human resources, and alerted Republican House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick.

After referring the woman to Ridley, Alexander said he received a conference call from Ridley, a legislative attorney and a staff member for House Speaker Beth Harwell.

McCormick, Ridley and Harwell all confirmed that they were informed of the woman’s call to Alexander. McCormick confirmed discussing with Harwell’s chief of staff, Scott Gilmer, and House GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada whether it would be appropriate for the woman to address the caucus.

“I think the general response was that it would be a bad precedent, just to get somebody who shows up at a caucus meeting and goes after a member, without going through a formal process,” McCormick said.

McCormick said Alexander told him the nature of the woman’s potential complaint. Although Harwell said she didn’t know the call referenced sexual harassment, she said Gilmer told Alexander to refer the woman to human resources.

Ridley refused to say whether the woman ever contacted her.

“If I had received a call from someone regarding a sexual harassment complaint, I would not be able to talk to you about it, one way or the other,” Ridley said.

Experts have criticized that level of secrecy as problematic, saying that while some discretion is important, the policy as it exists lacks real consequences for harassment by elected officials.

But Harwell said she thinks the legislature’s sexual harassment policy is “pretty standard” and no one has complained about it to her.

Harwell said she’d be happy to discuss any changes with anyone, but underlined that the privacy component was needed in order to encourage possible victims to come forward.

She later asked Ridley to send background information to The Tennessean about the policy, which included links to sample policies from the National Conference of State Legislatures, as well as two other organizations that provide guidance to private sector employers.

None of the material specifically addressed whether discipline of elected lawmakers should be kept confidential.

Ultimately, the caucus did not actually discuss concerns about Durham’s behavior, because a parliamentary move to suspend the body’s rules failed by one vote.

That vote was seen as a litmus test of support for his ouster. 

'I hope that he's taking it seriously.'

Tennessee’s GOP caucus meeting came after colleagues said several of Durham’s past actions reflected poorly on the 32-year-old lawmaker’s judgment. He was investigated for prescription drug fraud in 2013, though a grand jury declined to indict him. And in 2014, he wrote a letter seeking leniency on behalf of a former youth pastor who admitted to statutory rape and possessing child pornography.

Then, in December, Harwell told reporters that she had asked Ridley to speak to Durham about “appropriate professional behavior and all that entails.”

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Just after the caucus meeting, Durham spoke to a scrum of reporters. 
 
His voice quiet, his head bowed slightly, he said the controversy was fueled by the “liberal media” but called it a “learning experience.”  
 
He said he didn’t see the talk with Ridley as serious and waved off questions about specifics of the conversation. After the meeting, Harwell again said she couldn’t provide details about the discussion. But she told The Associated Press that Durham should have learned something from the conversation with Ridley.
 
"I hope that he's taking it seriously. I would hope he would,” Harwell told the AP. 
 
Asked if he had ever been told about any formal human resources complaints against him, Durham said after the caucus meeting he hadn’t and that “there haven’t been any.” 
 
“I don’t know what else could possibly come out,” Durham said when asked if any other incidents regarding his behavior would come to light. 
 
Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @dave_boucher1. Reach Jill Cowan 615-664-2150 and on Twitter @jillcowan.