Political motives behind Bredesen's Watergate exposed

So much the administration says just appears to not be so. The Tennessean today reveals more about the political motives behind Bredesen's Watergate as they demonstrate how Bredesen crony Lt. Ronnie Shirley's illegal background check on a fellow trooper brought the scandal to light. Brad Schrade with the story:

A state trooper's discovery in May that he and his wife were subjected to unauthorized criminal background checks began the investigation that has found up to 182 such checks on Tennesseans, the trooper's lawyer says.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Robert Eckerman, a Republican, found out around May 19 that someone in the patrol had run his name and his wife's name through a state criminal justice database portal, Eckerman's attorney Arthur Knight said.

An intelligence officer with the patrol's Criminal Investigations Division, Eckerman later found out that the background checks had been performed by Lt. Ronnie Shirley, a trooper with Democratic connections who once fixed a ticket for then-Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley.

When Eckerman discovered the unauthorized checks, THP's leadership told him to turn over the investigation, Knight said. Knight is representing Eckerman in a federal lawsuit against the department filed more than a year ago, claiming a hostile work environment because of his political affiliation.

UPDATE: Bill Hobbs has analysis of the story.