This Time article, "What was the biggest political scandal in American history," recently appeared on Facebook. It brought to mind scandals that occurred in Kentucky during and after my 25 years in the Office of the Attorney General and the extent to which the open records law enabled the public to hold its public servants accountable.

Kentucky has a colorful history of political scandals. James W. "Honest Dick" Tate, State Treasurer from 1867 to 1888, absconded with $100,000 in gold and silver coins from public coffers and was never apprehended. He is estimated to have misappropriated $247,128 (roughly equivalent to $7 million in today's currency) from the treasury while in office.

The term "Tateism" became a synonym for political corruption in the state. "Honest Dick's" lengthy tenure in "public service" prompted the framers of Kentucky's fourth constitution to expand the one term limit for governors to all constitutional officers, a limitation that was not lifted until 1992.

I joined the attorney general's office in 1991. One year later details emerged about BOPTROT. That was my baptism by fire.

We rehash this unpleasant past not to reopen old wounds, but to underscore the importance of the open records law in advancing public understanding of Kentucky's political "scandals" and determining whether its public servants "are indeed serving the public."

These scandals may have further eroded public confidence in state officials and agencies, but they confirmed -- if there was ever any doubt -- the value of the laws which secure the public's right to know.

Although the executive and legislative branches figured much more prominently than the judicial branch, no branch of government was untouched by scandal in those 25 plus years.

Not surprisingly, most of the scandals involved money, sex, or both.

The catalog of Kentucky scandals begins as Time's catalog concludes with Iran-Contra in 1991 (and the dismissal of fraud and obstruction of justice charges, among others, against Oliver North).

1. BOPTROT--was an undercover sting operation conducted by the FBI that began in September 1990. BOP refers to the legislature's Business, Occupations and Professions Committee (which was responsible for state law governing horse racing) and TROT to harness racing. The operation netted 12 Kentucky legislators, including then-Speaker of the House Don Blandford, and others, including then-Governor Wallace Wilkinson's nephew and appointment secretary, Bruce, all of whom accepted bribes "and other inducements" for influencing racing legislation.

Most of the convicted were fined or imprisoned or both. Blandford, for example, was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 64 months in prison.

The public was surprised to learn that a legislator could be "bought" for as little as a $400 bribe. One attorney was prompted to comment, "That's not a bribe. That's a tip."

We cannot track the role open records played in informing the public about BOPTROT because the open records decisions from 1992 and before are not accessible online and my memory has faded.

2. The Kent Downey scandal--within a few years, scandal again rocked the Capitol as salacious details of sexual escapades and other indiscretions, including alcohol and sex fueled parties attended by legislators in the Capitol during the workday, came to light following the execution of search warrants on the Legislative Research Commission's offices by the FBI and Kentucky Attorney Ben Chandler in October 1996.

The central, but by no means only, figure in the investigation was Kent Downey, director of operations for the House of Representatives. In December 1997, Downey pleaded guilty to using his state office to promote prostitution and illegal gambling on "private golf outings" attended by legislators, lobbyists, and others. He was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to three years probation.

Open records figured prominently in the Downey scandal as Chandler and three Kentucky newspapers fought to make the investigative file public following a circuit court ruling that the file should remain closed. They ultimately succeeded and in 2002 the files were released to the public.

https://cases.justia.com/kentucky/court-of-appeals/2001-03-30-1999-CA-0…

https://ag.ky.gov/orom/19961/96ORD244.htm

3. The 1995 gubernatorial election scandal--Attorney General Chandler again played the lead role in investigating allegations of vote buying leveled against Democrats in Governor Paul Patton's administration by defeated gubernatorial candidate Larry Forgy. Additional claims of irregularities in the Democrat's "get out the vote" efforts during the campaign were also raised.

The investigation led to the indictment of two Patton aides, including Chief of Staff Skipper Martin, and two prominent Teamsters on charges of circumventing campaign laws, by exceeding the legal contribution limit, to secure Patton's election.

Chandler pressed for prosecutions in the case as challenges were brought in the courts, up to and including the US Supreme Court, but in 2003 Patton issued pardons to ensure that none of the four would be tried.

A short time earlier, the open records staff was asked to review the Governor's denial of the Associated Press's request for records relating to executive pardons, ultimately concluding that the records must be disclosed.

Poring over the debates of the Constitutional Convention of 1890, I found this quotation:

"Let the Governor publish those letter to the world, and let each an every man within the borders of Kentucky read them. . . .To prevent the indiscriminate application to the Governor. . .let it be understood that when a letter is written it is not to go into a hole in the Executive Office, but it is to be spread on the record and read by each and every man in the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

https://ag.ky.gov/orom/20011/01ORD029.doc

4. The Lt. Governor Steve Henry scandal(s)--scandal plagued Governor Patton's two term lieutenant governor, Steve Henry, as well. A state audit found that in 2000, 25 state employees used 500 hours of personal leave, valued at $16,000, to work on his wedding to Heather French. Henry reimbursed the state for wedding expenses and trips with his wife.

In 2003 Henry, a doctor, paid $162,000 to settle a federal Medicaid lawsuit alleging that he defrauded Medicaid and Medicare by approving billing claims for services he was not physically present to render.

A failed 2007 run for governor led to three misdemeanor charges -- reduced from Class D felonies -- for misusing campaign resources. Henry entered an Alford plea. He received a fine and a suspended jail sentence.

Henry was the subject of more than one open records decisions before and after he served as lieutenant governor.

https://ag.ky.gov/orom/20011/01ORD067.doc

5. The Paul Patton and Tina Conner scandal--in 2002, a two year affair between Governor Paul Patton and a Western Kentucky nursing home owner, Tina Conner, was revealed. With the revelation came allegations that Patton used his influence to help Conner's business and financial interests while their affair was ongoing and to hurt her interests after the affair ended.

Conner alleged that Patton arranged regulatory favors for her nursing home during the affair. When it ended, the nursing home was repeatedly cited for health and safety violations resulting in the withdrawal of Medicaid and Medicare funding and, ultimately, bankruptcy.

Conner unsuccessfully sued Patton, and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission issued four charges against him for using or attempting to use his official position to help Conner.

The Tina Conner scandal also generated a number of open records appeals.

https://ag.ky.gov/orom/20021/02ORD209.doc

6. The Fletcher Hiring Scandal--in 2003, Governor Ernie Fletcher took office, the first Republican to hold the position of Governor in three decades. Two years later, Attorney General Greg Stumbo launched an investigation into the Fletcher administration's violations of the state merit system in the form of politically based hiring, firing, and other employment related decisions.

A grand jury issued indictments against nine officials, all misdemeanors with the exception of the 22 felony counts of witness tampering and tampering with physical evidence issued against Dan Druen. Fletcher subsequently issued pardons to the nine officials and a blanket pardon to any person who committed or "may be accused of committing" any offense related to the investigation. Fletcher excluded himself from the pardon.

More indictments followed including Fletcher's indictment in 2006 for conspiracy, official misconduct, and political discrimination. Later that year, a special judge ruled that Fletcher's actions were protected by executive privilege while he was in office and urged the Governor and the Attorney General to settle the case.

In August, they announced a settlement. Fletcher acknowledged that the evidence suggested wrongdoing but denied personal culpability. He further acknowledged that Stumbo's prosecution of the case was a necessary and proper exercise of his authority. The case was thereafter dropped on the condition that four members of the Personnel Board step down and their replacements chosen by Fletcher from a list of candidates provided by Stumbo.

Once again, the open records laws were regularly employed to dislodge records from administration hands.

https://ag.ky.gov/orom/20061/06ORD022.doc

7. The Richie Farmer scandal—following his defeat in the gubernatorial primary of 2011 as Senator David Williams' running mate, two term Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer was investigated for violating campaign finance laws and misappropriating state resources.

Farmer's term as Ag Commissioner had been marked by lavish spending and questionable hiring practices. Upon taking office, his successor, James Comer, identified missing agriculture department property and requested an audit by State Auditor Adam Edelen.

The audit, released in April 2012, revealed a "toxic culture of entitlement" in the Farmer administration. It detailed improper use of state employee time to perform Farmer's personal errands, falsifying time sheets, failing to report gifts, and a litany of other offenses.

In March 2013, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission charged Farmer with 42 violation of state ethics laws. One month later a federal grand jury issued five indictments against him.

Farmer initially protested his innocence, but in September 2013 he entered a guilty plea In federal court in exchange for a reduced sentence of 27 months in federal prison and $120,500 in restitution.

He acknowledged 35 of the 42 ethics violations with which he had been charged by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission and was ordered to pay a $65,000 fine.

8. Representative John Arnold and more legislative scandals--in 2013, female Legislative Research Commission staffers filed ethics complaints against Rep. John Arnold with the Legislative Ethics Commission. They alleged a pattern of sexual harassment by Arnold dating back to 2010. Two other legislator were alleged to have engaged in improper relationships with LRC staffers, and allegations of an improper relationship with a staff member ultimately reached then-LRC director, Bobby Sherman.

The staffers had taken their complaints to high ranking LRC staffers and Democrats to no avail.

The Legislative Ethics Commission came under fire for its failure to discipline Arnold in an April 2014 hearing. In May, the Commission issued a public reprimand to Arnold and imposed a $3000 fine. Arnold had already resigned as had Sherman. Sherman was subsequently investigated by the Kentucky State Police for shredding documents.

(One of the legislators against whom allegations of sexual improprieties were leveled, Representative Keith Hall, deserves separate mention.

In 2016, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for paying off a mining inspector to give favorable treatment to the surface mines he owned in Pike County. He was also fined $25,000.

Two years later, Hall's prison sentence was extended by two years after he pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft in connection with falsifying records to create the appearance that one of his companies had insurance.)

https://amp.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article68044762.html

https://amp.kentucky.com/news/state/article211853899.html

These scandals did not reach the open records staff of the Attorney General's Office. In 2003, lawmaker enacted KRS 7.119, divesting the attorney general of his role in mediating open records disputes and making the LRC ultimate arbiter of access to its records.

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=465

In 2015, the Courier Journal and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting fought efforts by legislators and others to seal their depositions in the sexual harassment case which by then had moved to the courts. The case was eventually settled for $400,000.

9. The Tim Longmeyer scandal--the focus shifted back to the Executive Branch in 2016. Tim Longmeyer, who served as Personnel Cabinet Secretary under Governor Steve Beshear, had accepted newly elected Attorney General Andy Beshear's invitation to serve as his deputy.

He resigned on March 23, three months into Beshear's administration, and was arrested by federal authorities two days later, charged with masterminding a kickback for contracts bribery scheme while Personnel Cabinet Secretary.

Longmeyer gave a consulting company, MC Squared Consulting, more than $2 million in contracts in exchange for $212,500 in kickbacks to be funneled into the 2015 campaigns of Democratic candidates without the candidates' knowledge.

Longmeyer pleaded guilty to bribery in April 2016 and was sentenced to 70 months in prison. He was also required to pay $203,500 in restitution.

10. The Administrative Office of the Courts scandal--a 2018 audit of Kentucky's courts by State Auditor Mike Harmon, following revelations of employee only surplus property sales a year earlier, found a "pervasive lack of accountability."

Although the courts and judicial agencies are identified in the open records laws as "public agencies," they exempted themselves from the application of the laws in 1978.

Their records have never been accessible under the open records law.

https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/570-s-w-2d-617…

Responding to criticism, Chief Justice John Minton requested the audit. It revealed improprieties ranging from the private sale of firearms to the leasing of office space for a Supreme Court justice from a company owned by the justice's son.

Surplus vehicles were privately sold or sold at employee only auctions under their Kelley Blue Book value; mileage reimbursement and credit card usage was inadequately monitored; and those administrative rules that existed were not "applied equally to higher levels of management and elected officials."

The courts were criticized for declining to implement some of the recommendations made by the Auditor, but a surplus property sale policy and an open records policy (of sorts)were adopted in 2017.

https://courts.ky.gov/courts/supreme/Rules_Procedures/201709.pdf

The sexual harassment allegations and settlements involving state Representatives Hoover, Meredith, DeCesare, and Linder? A "sweetheart deal" on the purchase of a home by Governor Bevin? A power grab by Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes.

What is the next scandal on Kentucky's political horizon?

Whatever the future holds, we can be certain that the open records law will continue to "reveal whether public servants are indeed serving the public" and, we can at least hope, to "provide impetus for [public servants] to pursue the public good."