MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An assistant district attorney with the office of Hamilton County DA Coty Wamp will arrive in Memphis on Dec. 27 to conduct interviews and meetings on the Wanda Halbert investigation, according to a letter obtained by WREG.
The investigation by East Tennessee prosecutors pursuing a possible ouster of the Shelby County Clerk got off to a slow start, Wamp said.
The in-person visit comes after the majority of people the office contacted did not return phone calls to investigators, Wamp wrote.
Interviews have been conducted with more than a dozen individuals, but Wamp said much of the information gained was “insignificant.”
The office also sent four public records requests to county agencies on Nov. 9. She said only one office responded, and that was with a denial of the request.
When we reached out to Halbert, she said she was not notified about next week’s visit.
“We have not been notified about anything outside of three public record requests that have been submitted to Shelby County Legal for response. I will reach out to DA Wamp to invite her to our office upon her arrival,” she said.
Wamp said her office has heard rumors of complaints and grievances about the Shelby County Clerk’s office, but so far, they haven’t received a single formal complaint in writing. There isn’t enough evidence at this point to have Halbert removed from office, she said.
“In order for my office to pursue ‘ouster’ under T.C.A. 8-47-101, we must have evidence in our possession that is clear and convincing to a court of law. … Therefore, we cannot simply rely on hearsay or rumors. We also cannot simply rely on evidence that Ms. Halbert is ‘bad’ at her job,” she wrote.
According to the letter, they must be able to prove that “the elected official either knowingly or willfully committed misconduct in the office or the official knowingly or willfully neglected to perform any duty enjoined upon such officer by any laws of the state,” to remove Halbert from office.
That’s why Executive Assistant District Attorney Kevin Loper needs the public to speak up when he comes to town next week.
“Legitimate information, not someone told me this occurred. But this is something that I have good personal knowledge of, documentation of, in regards to why Clerk Halbert is not in compliance with her duties as an elected official,” Loper said.
Wamp encouraged anyone with knowledge of Halbert’s “neglect of duties” to contact Special Assistant Jay Price at jay.price@hcdatn.org.
The Hamilton County DA’s office was appointed back in June as an independent prosecutor in the investigation into Halbert’s office in relation to “possible removal proceedings.” The investigation centers on possible misconduct and allegations that Halbert may have neglected to perform the duties of her office.
Halbert and the clerk’s office have been heavily scrutinized over long lines, office closures, and delays in issuing license plates and tags, prompting complaints by county commissioners and officials, and members of the public.
In November, the clerk’s branch office in Poplar Plaza closed suddenly after the office was evicted for failing to pay its rent for several months, according to the property’s managers.
Halbert has denied any wrongdoing and said the entire situation came to the public’s attention due to retaliation by someone after she reported problems with documents at the clerk’s office.