Mayor Megan Barry shares cellphone pass code with TBI; lawyer rips investigation

The attorney for Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said he provided the pass code to Barry's personal cellphone to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Friday, one day after a Nashville judge signed off on a search warrant seeking the contents of the device.

Jerry Martin, Barry's lawyer, also questioned the conduct of the investigation, saying that the search warrant came even as the mayor was cooperating with authorities.

He pointed to past conversations he said he had with Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and TBI agents prior to the release of an affidavit that detailed nude photos taken on the cellphone of the mayor's former bodyguard, Sgt. Rob Forrest.

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The events of the last week "raise serious concerns about the course and conduct of this investigation," Martin said.

Funk, who requested the investigation on Feb. 1, has said he told the TBI to follow its "standard operating procedure." In a statement Friday, he said when the TBI investigation is complete he will "fulfill and perform the requirements of my office."

"Until that occurs, this office will not have public comment so as to not interfere with the TBI investigation," he said.

TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said in a statement that the agency is "treating this case as we would any other, including the actions regarding the search warrants in this ongoing investigation."

In a lengthy statement Friday, Martin said he spoke with TBI Director Mark Gwyn earlier in the morning and that he has confidence Gwyn will "ensure that the TBI limits its search of her personal phone to only items that are relevant to its investigation."

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He went on to say that reports about Barry being uncooperative during the TBI's investigation are untrue.

The affidavit cites explicit images of a woman's body that appears to be Barry found on Forrest's phone, which appear to have been taken while he was on out-of-town trips with the mayor.

Based on the photos and deleted chats they discovered on Forrest's phone, TBI agents say they have probable cause to seek evidence that they believe could show a crime was committed. The TBI obtained Barry's cellphone from a previous search warrant last week, but had been unable to access without the pass code.

Barry's attorney says mayor was in the process of handing over phone last week

Martin said he met with Funk at the district attorney's request on Feb. 15. At the meeting, he said Funk informed him that TBI was in possession of the nude images described in the affidavit.

"He also informed me that the release of the images to the public was imminent," Martin said. "I informed him that if the images he described were of the mayor, then they were taken without her consent. Therefore, the publication of those images would be a felony under Tennessee law."

Martin said the TBI called him later on the night of Feb. 15 and requested a consensual search of the mayor's cellphone the next day. He said during that call, he inquired about protocols to ensure attorney-client privilege and access to "personal materials plainly unrelated to their investigation."

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Martin said he was told TBI would follow up the next day and that the mayor was in the process of preparing to turn over her phone when "when the TBI, presumably at the direction of the District Attorney, sought a search warrant.

"This tactic was surprising since the evening before the search warrant was issued, I communicated our willingness to turn over the phone," Martin said. "However, by seeking the phone via a search warrant the authorities were ultimately afforded the opportunity for the unorthodox release of the underlying affidavit."

Affidavit: Bringing in third party only way to unlock phone

Nashville Judge Steve Dozier on Thursday signed off on a search warrant sought by TBI investigators seeking the contents of Barry's phone. It came three weeks after Barry admitted to a nearly two-year affair with Forrest, her former police bodyguard, on Jan. 31.

The affidavit described events differently, saying investigators asked Martin for Barry's phone on Feb. 15, but Martin refused. On Feb. 16, a TBI agent served a search warrant at the mayor's office at 3:45 p.m., but Barry refused to provide the pass code to unlock the phone, it says.

According to the affidavit, Martin again declined to provide the pass code to a TBI agent.

"Due to the fact that Megan Barry has thus far refused to provide the pass code to her phone, the only process for examining the phone ... is to have the phone unlocked by a third party," the affidavit states.

The court order is a sign of TBI's contention that Barry and her legal counsel have not willingly shared all documents sought by investigators. But Martin has rejected that notion.

"The mayor has provided the TBI with thousands of pages of documents at its request," Martin said. "The mayor was in the process of turning over her personal phone before it was unilaterally seized. The mayor has provided the TBI with her pass code to her personal phone. Simply put, the mayor continues to cooperate with the investigation and knows eventually she will be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing."

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.