Following a tip, we contacted House Speaker Davy Carter about certain aspects of the Dennis Milligan scandal (see here, here, here, and here for the goofy saga). Carter declined to comment but confirmed the following: Milligan contacted one of his superiors, Randy Sims, at Centennial Bank, where Carter is Regional President. Milligan called Sims in the evening after his meeting with Rep. Duncan Baird and again a few days later to inform Sims that he had video that Milligan believed might be damaging to Carter’s reputation. Carter also confirmed that he is considering legal action against Milligan for slander.
Milligan warned Baird at their Krispy Kreme meeting that he would make contact with Carter’s employers if Baird stayed in the race.
What this involves, Duncan, is several things. It involves you, it involves Davy Carter…[Johnny] Allison and [Randy] Sims, who are Mr. Carter’s employers. They’re holding a fundraiser for me, and so, they’re gonna be advised of Mr. Carter’s actions. And, are you going to explain or let Davy explain to his wife? … You’re affecting Davy’s life and three kids, you’re affecting potentially his job. … You got to think about other people. If it’s just Duncan’s life, that’s one thing. There are other people’s lives here, it’s not gonna be good. You know that Randy Sims and Johnny Allison are throwing a fundraiser for me.
Milligan also twice mentions a potential impact on U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton. Rep. John Burris is Cotton’s political director in his campaign for U.S. Senate. I asked Burris whether Milligan had contacted Cotton and Burris declined to comment.
I asked Milligan whether he had contacted either Sims or Cotton regarding the late-night visit to the Capitol, and if so what his purpose was. He replied by e-mail: “I don’t discuss or even confirm private conversations with friends and/or contributors.”