NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Embattled Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Durham has survived an effort to oust him from his leadership role among state House Republicans.
Before discussing Durham’s fate, House Republicans voted to eject the media from Tuesday’s meeting. A secret ballot to remove Durham as majority whip then failed to reach the required two-thirds vote.
Prosecutors in 2013 sought charges against Durham on allegations that he had altered the dates on medical prescriptions, but a grand jury declined to indict him in 2014.
Durham was later criticized by fellow Republicans for writing a character reference for a former youth minister seeking a lenient sentence after pleading guilty to a federal charge of child porn possession.
Durham blamed the negative attention on coverage by what he decried as the "liberal media."