NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — House Speaker Beth Harwell says a complaint filed against the House clerk is being brought by a lame-duck lawmaker who is angry about the expulsion of fellow Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham over a series of sexual harassment allegations.
Rep. Billy Spivey of Lewisburg, who abruptly decided against seeking re-election this spring, is calling for an investigation into Clerk Joe McCord for allegedly calling a staffer obscene names and making a lewd gesture toward her 2-year-old granddaughter while she was visiting the speaker's office.
Harwell in a statement noted that Spivey had opposed the public release of an investigation detailing allegations that Durham sexually harassed 22 women during his four years in office. Spivey didn't attend a special session in which Durham was expelled from the chamber.