An outside prosecutor will review the investigation into Putnam County Mayoral Candidate Wayne Nabors after the district attorney recused his office.
District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway said he learned of preliminary investigations conducted by the comptroller’s office regarding allegations related to Nabors while in the middle of a trial last week. Dunaway decided to step away from the case because he has known Nabors for many years and also recently made a personal donation to his challenger.
“I don’t want there to be any feeling of impropriety or, or favoritism one way or the other in the case, so as of yesterday, I have requested that an outside prosecutor, we call it a pro tem prosecutor, be assigned to the case so they can make an independent review of the allegations and make any decisions that may need to be made,” Dunaway said.
Dunaway said he submitted the request to the District Attorney Conference’s Administrative Office in Nashville this week. The administrative office will contact a district attorney in another district to determine if they will accept the case.
“That process is followed so that I am not choosing who is to fill that role, there’s a process in place where, you know, it’s not my choice who is assigned as pro tem so that there’s no favoritism or bias there,” Dunaway said.
Dunaway said he has not yet been notified about who the pro tem prosecutor will be but expects to learn the assignment soon. He has not investigated or reviewed any investigative file regarding the allegations.
“No, I, I wouldn’t do that,” Dunaway said. “I mean, it’s, it’s not our business not guessing. You know, prosecutors make decisions based upon the facts, and the law and I’ve made no evaluation at all and don’t intend to for the reasons I’ve stated.”
The Comptrollers Office found evidence that Nabors required employees in the Clerk’s office to perform work during business hours for his campaign. Several employees said they felt they were experiencing adverse treatment because they did not attend a Nabors event.
Dunaway said any allegation of a criminal act is serious, but he does not know anything more than what the comptroller described generally. He does not know where the case will land or what the potential outcomes could be.
“There’s been an allegation made, the comptroller’s office has done, some level of investigation and I have not reviewed the results of that investigation and don’t know the details, but the allegation is, is sufficient for me to request an outside prosecutor to review it, because of, my relationship to the parties,” Dunaway said.
The outside prosecutor will make any necessary decisions regarding the allegations once assigned.