Harwell Still Considering Run for Governor, Says She's Undamaged by Durham

House Speaker Beth Harwell said today she’s still thinking about running for governor and declared herself to be undamaged politically by the sex scandal surrounding Rep. Jeremy Durham.

In a rare availability with the media after speaking to small businessmen, Harwell again defended her handling of Durham. She insisted she knew only of rumors of sexual harassment at Legislative Plaza until The Tennessean printed a story Jan. 24 quoting three unidentified women about Durham. That’s even though two women complained about Durham to House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick in 2015.

Harwell has asked Attorney General Herbert Slatery to investigate the accusations against Durham and report to the House as part of an anticipated expulsion proceeding against the Franklin Republican. Harwell said today she doesn't know how long Slatery's investigation might take.

Asked whether he'll complete it this session, she said, "That would be my hope. The attorney general will have to do the investigation in his time frame."

Here’s the Q&A with Harwell:

Q: Are you still thinking about running for governor?

Harwell: I’m looking at it. I think a number of good people are. I’m looking at it. It’s a little early to decide right now.

Q: Do you think this Durham thing has damaged you politically?

Harwell: No. No more than any of the other issues that confront us. I don’t. I tried to show, number one, I think there needs to be a cultural change on the hill. Two, I take this very seriously. Three, there was nothing I could have done prior to this because I knew nothing, in fact, so for me to have come forth to the media or anyone else and say, ‘here, this is what I have,’ I don’t have anything. And I think we’ll come to a resolution on this. I believe we will. And hopefully we’ll all learn a lesson.

Q: But Leader McCormick came to you with specifics.

Harwell: No, he never told me the specifics. He promised the young ladies that he would never tell who they were. So he did not come to me with names or specifics. He said that he would reach out to them to see if they would like to come talk to me.

Q: Yes but you knew it was more than just rumor.

Harwell: Well no, you have to understand, unless someone can put their name to something and say they’re going to file a complaint there is not anything in my power to do. Someone has to come forward. And that’s why I’ve turned everything over to the attorney general.

Q: No one has ever come forward and yet you’ve done all these things. You held a press conference. You’ve told the interns not to give their phone numbers to lawmakers.

Harwell: I think that’s good public policy.

Q: You’ve disassociated yourself from Durham. He’s resigned as whip. You’ve done all these things. You could have done all these things before The Tennessean story, couldn’t you?

Harwell: We didn’t have anything. The Tennessean story was one that gave us credibility to rumors. They actually, they say, have texts. No one else has ever given me texts. All other things are just merely hearsay. Thank you all so much.