An ethics complaint against Metro Councilmember Joy Kimbrough has been dismissed by the Ethical Conduct Board after a marathon hearing that lasted nearly nine hours. According to NewsChannel 5, the board's decision was swayed by the credibility of the testimonies and the lack of concrete evidence to support the allegations raised by businessman Ryan Moses.
The heart of the complaint was the accusation that Kimbrough demanded $500,000 from Moses in exchange for political support for a land redevelopment project in her district. Moses, the CEO of Best Brands, claimed that during a three-minute phone call, Kimbrough made the demand to support his plan to build a liquor distribution warehouse. However, during the hearing, Moses admitted he had not recorded the call, a fact he had previously lied about, as per the board chair's concern highlighted in the NewsChannel 5 report. The board found itself trying to make a credible judgment out of a murky narrative, replete with misrepresentations that risked muddying the waters further.
Testimonies from community members were also brought into the frame, with WSMV's coverage highlighting how Moses had initially offered a community benefit agreement with $35,000 a year for five years to a neighborhood nonprofit, only to be allegedly told by Kimbrough that the half-million dollars would go "somewhere else." Kimbrough herself vehemently denied the allegations, stating, "I have never demanded, solicited, requested, or asked for any amount of money for myself, or on behalf of my community, from Mr. Moses. Never…never," as reported by WSMV.
Further complicating the case was the absence of a key piece of evidence, specifically the supposed recording of the pivotal phone call between Kimbrough and Moses. The Tennessean detailed that after around an hour into the proceedings, it became clear that no such recording existed, undermining Moses's credibility. Kimbrough, who made an unexpected appearance as the closing witness, claimed she couldn't remember specifics of the phone call, leading to attorney Ed Yarbrough's cross-examination retort.
