Kentucky Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in KY
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Kentucky Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
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6/05/23
Weaponized his GOP committee by threatening FBI Director Christopher Wray with an unprecedented charge of contempt of Congress to get access to a document discredited as not reliable enough to pursue as part of a shameless political smear campaign and sham investigation against Joe Biden without regard to protecting the identities of redacted sourcesAccording to voluminous reports filed by mainstream media outlets
5/05/15
Physically abused his college girlfriend by grabbing her wrists so hard they would bruise and emotionally abused her by controlling many aspects of her life and demanding to approve of anyone she interacted withAccording to an exclusive interview of the alleged victim by The Courier-Journal
5/05/15
Drove his college girlfriend to get a secret abortion at a Louisville clinic and became "enraged" when he learned she listed his real name as her driver home on the release form which exposed his anti-choice hypocrisyAccording to an exclusive report by The Courier-Journal
Kentucky Republican Executive Branch Scandals
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12/14/19
Rewarded convicted murderer Patrick Baker -- who had only served two years of his 19-year sentence -- with a pardon after his family donated $29,500 to his reelection campaignAccording to reporting by mainstream media outlets
Pardoned a man convicted of sodomizing an unconscious 15-year-old boy with a sex toy less than 4 years into his 15-year sentenceAccording to news reports from credible media outletsPardoned a man who murdered his 6-week-old baby so brutally that "the seams between the bones in his skull were pushed half an inch apart" after he had only served 18-years of his life sentenceAccording to news reports from credible media outlets
Pardoned a man convicted of killing a man with a cinder block and then buying his body in a shallow grave less than 9 years into his life sentenceAccording to news reports from credible media outlets -
3/08/23
Tailgated his teenage nephew's truck at distances as close as two feet throughout his brother's farm for over a mile and later sent him threatening voicemails and texts in retaliation for the teen reportedly giving him the middle fingerAccording to a police affidavit filed by his own brother
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6/22/23
Declined to recuse himself from an investigation into an addiction recovery center he accepted a $6,900 donation from when in a prior case he forced a judge to recuse themself for accepting a donation of only $250According to an investigative report by The Daily Beast
Kentucky Republican Judge Scandals
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Ronnie DortchFmr. State Judge [R-KY]
2/24/17
Engaged in a yearlong sexual relationship with a woman who was a defendant in a felony case being litigated in his court and admitted to privately discussing the case with her when confrontedAccording to a final ruling by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission
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Tim NolanFmr. State Judge [R-KY]
5/04/18
Coerced 12 young women -- all but two of whom were battling a heroin or opioid addiction and were already tangled up in the criminal justice system -- in to having sex with him by supplying them with heroin and threatened to take the drugs away and call the police on them if they rebuffed his sexual demands while also being married5/04/18
Coerced seven underage girls in to performing sex acts with him, supplied them with heroin and other opioids and threatened to take the drugs away and report them to the police if they didn't submit to his sexual demands while also being marriedHe pleaded guilty to human trafficking and was sentenced to 20 years in prison
Kentucky Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Steve NunnFmr. State Representative [R-KY]
9/15/09
Intentionally shot and killed his former fiancé months after she sought and received a protective restraining order against himAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Jeff HooverFmr. State Representative [R-KY]
1/16/19
Sexually assaulted his 21-year-old legislative staffer more than 50 times over a three-year period subjecting her to what she testified as "nearly daily touching" including groping between her legs while seated next to her at large political functions and then secretly settled a lawsuit she filed against him in order to prevent her allegations from becoming public while being married the entire timeAllegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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Dan JohnsonFmr. State Representative [R-KY]
12/11/17
Digitally penetrated, fondled and forcibly kissed a 17-year-old member of his church in the basement of his home as she begged him to stop while also being marriedAccording to an investigate report by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting
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Derek LewisState Representative [R-KY]
4/16/20
Crashed his pickup truck into a ditch, almost fell over getting out, had bloodshot eyes, slurred his words, acted belligerently, refused to do field sobriety tests telling police “I ain’t gonna do a goddamn thing you want” and then tried to use his position in government to get out of trouble by repeatedly demanding that the deputy call the local sheriff on his behalfAccording to a police report filed by local officials
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Leanette LopezFmr. State Rep. Candidate [R-KY]
4/04/22
Assaulted a police officer by grabbing and bending their hand backward while she was booked for driving under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest in which she refused police officer orders to exit her vehicle parked in the middle of the road and when asked if she wished to contact her attorney responded with “Blah Blah Blah”According to charging documents filed by local prosecutors3/02/22
Caused a disturbance inside a local convenience store when she opened a beer and loudly said multiple profanities to a person she was on the phone with and had the police called on herAccording to charging documents filed by local police
Kentucky Republican Mayor Scandals
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Eddie GirdlerFmr. Mayor [R-KY]
8/11/19
Ran a red light and struck a 15-year-old bicyclist with his car causing internal injuries so severe she later needed to be air lifted to a second hospital for special treatment and reportedly "sat for a few seconds and then left" the scene of the accident before police arrivedAccording to charging documents filed by local police
Other Kentucky Republican Scandals
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Bubba JonesFmr. Sheriff [R-KY]
8/11/22
Was indicted for official misconduct in office and tampering with a witness in an apparent attempt to cover his tracksAccording to a plea deal reached with state authorities
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Donald JonesSheriff [R-KY]
5/01/23
Coached a witness to subvert justice and achieve a legal outcome he supposedly desired by giving them false information that prosecutors contend was meant to affect their testimonyAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Matthew LeveridgeState's Attorney [R-KY]
8/03/22
Had an extramarital affair with a probation officer who worked closely with defendants he presumably could have secured convictions on which makes him vulnerable to claims of bias in courtEngaged in an extramarital affair with a woman who was serving jury duty in the court he was prosecuting cases in and would often boast to her that he "don't have no boss" who could reprimand him for it8/03/22
Impregnated a criminal defendant his office prosecuted sometime during their two-month affair and then rescinded her pretrial diversion agreement presumably out of payback for telling his wife about the affair and babyAccording to a report by The Daily Beast
3/09/09
Drank alcohol in his car while he was stopped at a red light and was arrested by a police officer who witnessed his consumptionAccording to charging documents filed by local police