Bitcoin and Pokémon Cards

State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has a crystal ball. He can divine the future through the coffee grounds at the bottom of his mug. This might sound ridiculous, but State Senator Jeff Yarbro seems to believe it.

Between beers, Yarbro put out a letter accusing the AG of doing a tyranny after he adjusted a January 2024 opinion in April 2024 regarding National Guard deployment. In the initial opinion, the AG maintained that the National Guard of Tennessee is “a militia for purposes of the Constitution.” In the revision three months later, the opinion says the Guard is a militia “for purposes of federal law.”

At the same time, Skrmetti withdrew an opinion from former AG Herbert Slatery declaring that the governor is only to deploy the militia in response to rebellion or invasion, a move that must first gain approval from the legislature. Skrmetti clarified that Slatery’s opinion was withdrawn because it didn’t reflect the state of the law.

Yarbro brings attention to all this and describes the AG's shift as deeply problematic, referring to it as "more akin to a reversal than a mere revision."

As Memphis prepares to receive a deployment of the National Guard as directed by President Trump, Yabro's accusation is cast in a conspiratorial light. Without understanding the timeline, you'd be led to believe that Skrmetti adjusted his opinion in lockstep with the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on crime in cities over the past few months.

But in April of 2024, when Skrmetti made the revision and removed Slatery's opinion, our President was Joe Biden, and Trump was battling lawsuits and facing an uncertain path to victory.

“If the folks at the press conference are insinuating my office withdrew the opinion six months before the election to pave the way for Trump policies a year and a half later, they have bigger problems than this legal question,” Skrmetti said in an email to the Tennessee Lookout. “If I could see the future like that, I’d be neck deep in Bitcoin and Pokémon cards.” DAVIS HUNT

🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.

🗳️ Outsiders Funding D7 Smear Campaigns A familiar PAC is behind attack ads targeting state Representative Jody Barrett in Tennessee's 7th District GOP primary. Of the $800,000 spent criticizing Barrett, half comes from the School Freedom Fund, which is exclusively funded by billionaire Jeff Yass.

The School Freedom Fund is the same pro-voucher group that spent $3.6 million to oust the late, former Republican state senator, Frank Niceley. The group also threw its weight behind state Representative and fellow D7 challenger Lee Reeves during last year’s Republican primaries. In 2022, the fund spent more than $150,000 in support of Andy Ogles in the 5th Congressional District race and over $700,000 against Ogles' opponents Beth Harwell and Kurt Winstead. 

According to the TriStar Daily, Conservatives for American Excellence, backed primarily by anti-Trump hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer and Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, has spent over $300,000 smearing Barrett. The House Freedom Caucus and related PACs have allocated about $350,000, some of which targets Matt Van Epps.