On June 5, Pfohl emailed Stephenson and other commission staffers: “Ned: Terry asked that this morning we send Phillip our thoughts on the issue we discussed.”

Later that night — just two days before Puckett sent a letter announcing his resignation — Pfohl sent an email to Puckett with the subject line: “Today’s directive from Terry K.”

The email suggests the parties involved were concerned about how Puckett’s acceptance of a job with the commission would be perceived in light of his decision to resign.

“Phillip: Terry spoke to us today about announcing your role w/ the Commission in conjunction with what he said is your intention to announce your Senate plans tomorrow,” the email begins. “I implored him to ‘decouple’ those announcements for the sake of the appearance of the Commission manipulating the Senate balance of power and starting WW3 w/ the Governor’s administration.

“He seems to accept that your announcement should be a singular event re: your Senate position, but also instructed us to publish notice tomorrow of an Executive Committee meeting next Weds to get their approval of your role w/ us,” the email continues.