GOP-led Kentucky panel keeps Gov. Beshear impeachment alive

A legislative panel has dismissed two petitions calling for the impeachment of Kentucky's governor

Impeachment Fever-Kentucky (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A Republican-led legislative panel dismissed two petitions Friday calling for Gov. Andy Beshear’s impeachment but kept alive another citizens effort seeking the Democrat’s ouster for his restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Kentucky

The thrown-out petitions were the latest in a flurry of filings aiming to unseat prominent political leaders in Kentucky. Another pending petition targets the state’s Republican attorney general.

Two of the anti-Beshear petitions were dismissed for failing to meet statutory requirements, said Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, the committee chairman.

The House panel requested more information from Beshear as it reviews the remaining petition, the first one filed against the governor, Nemes said. All three petitions claim the governor improperly infringed on individual rights with his coronavirus-related orders.

Kentucky’s Supreme Court ruled last year that the governor had the authority to put restrictions on businesses and individuals to try to contain the coronavirus.

The House impeachment panel previously sought information from Beshear on how his virus-related ban on mass gatherings last spring was temporarily enforced against churches, a move that especially angered conservatives.

The impeachment frenzy, unprecedented in the state’s recent history, reflects a willingness by some Kentuckians to shatter long-established political norms in an increasingly bitter political divide. It follows closely on the heels of the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

Beshear says there are “zero grounds” for his removal and maintains his COVID-19 orders have saved lives. He portrays the petitioners seeking his ouster as anti-government extremists.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows that Kentucky has recorded 87.6 deaths per 100,000 people, the 42nd highest per capita rate in the country and better than neighboring states.

The House committee met behind closed doors for nearly three hours Friday, continuing its practice of long private discussions to review the impeachment petitions. The panel consists of four Republicans and three Democrats.

The committee also requested additional information from Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron The petition calling for Cameron’s impeachment includes three grand jurors who criticized his handling of the investigation into Breonna Taylor’s shooting death by police last year.

Nemes said he didn't know how long it will take the committee to complete its reviews of the remaining petitions, saying the lawmakers are doing their “due diligence.”

“I don't know how long it will take, how many meetings,” he said. “But we're working with all deliberate speed to get this very important matter taken care of appropriately.”

In the Taylor case, one officer was charged for allegedly firing into an adjacent apartment, but the three grand jurors said prosecutors never gave them the option to consider charges against the officers who fatally shot Taylor.

Cameron has stood by his investigation into Taylor’s death, which fueled protests over racial injustice. He said his team followed the law and presented a thorough case to the grand jury, adding that the petition against him was “so lacking in legal and factual support” it should be dismissed.

The petition alleges Cameron breached public trust and failed to comply with his duties in his handling of the Taylor case and then misrepresented the grand jury’s work to the public.

The House committee set a Monday evening deadline for Beshear and Cameron to submit the additional information. Nemes said the panel will reconvene sometime after that.

The panel had no update on another impeachment petition filed against GOP state Rep. Robert Goforth, a former gubernatorial candidate who was indicted for allegedly trying to strangle a woman. Goforth has pleaded not guilty, and the case is pending.

Impeachment is a card rarely played in any serious way in the Bluegrass State, though Kentucky has had its share of provocative elected officials. Four constitutional officers have been impeached in Kentucky history, but only one was convicted. James “Honest Dick” Tate, a 19th-century state treasurer, was ousted for stealing $250,000 from the state and fled the country.