On December 13, two Democratic state lawmakers wrote to the new Attorney General, Republican Daniel Cameron, asking him to take steps to investigate certain pardons issued by former governor Matt Bevin.
Specifically, Senator Morgan McGarvey and Representative Chris Harris asked Cameron to either appoint a special prosecutor, or a bipartisan prosecuting team, and to focus on the pardon given to Patrick Baker, whose family had supported Bevin’s campaign financially.
On December 30, Cameron wrote back, saying he had “discussed this matter with some of our law enforcement partners. After this discussion, I decided to send a formal request to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to investigate this matter.”
McGarvey and Harris issued the following statement on Thursday, January 2:
“We want to thank Attorney General Cameron for formally requesting that the FBI investigate former Governor Matt Bevin’s recent pardons. As we wrote in our letter to the Attorney General last month, a governor may have broad pardoning powers, but there must be further scrutiny by law enforcement when there is an appearance of impropriety or corruption. Kentuckians deserve to know if the pardon of Patrick Baker, whose family raised tens of thousands of dollars for Gov. Bevin in 2018, was granted improperly. We believe strongly that this and potentially other pardons should be investigated impartially, and are pleased that the Attorney General agrees and has asked the FBI to make sure that happens.”
Both the letter from McGarvey and Harris to Cameron, and Cameron’s response, are below.
McGarvey-Harris Letter to AG Cameron
AG Cameron Letter to Sen McGarvey and Rep. Harris
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