LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's administration has issued subpoenas to several lawyers who worked for former Gov. Matt Bevin, in attempts to obtain missing documents related to some of the Bevin administration's most controversial actions.
Beshear's Finance and Administration Cabinet issued subpoenas to former Bevin lawyers Chad Meredith and Matthew Kuhn on June 18 and July 8, respectively. Both Meredith and Kuhn now work in the appellate division for Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican.
According to records obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader, the subpoenas asked both Meredith and Kuhn to turn over documents related to pardons issued by the former Republican governor; a contract with the law firm Taft, Stettinius & Hollister; any personal legal work they did for Bevin, including on the valuation of his home in Anchorage, Alaska; and any work related to the 2019 gubernatorial campaign.
In the subpoena issued to Kuhn, the Finance and Administration Cabinet also asked for relevant emails sent to former Bevin employees Steve Pitt (who resigned from the attorney general's office recently because of his role in Bevin's pardons), Jessica Ditto (a former spokeswoman for Bevin who later worked in the communications office for President Donald Trump), Blake Brickman (Bevin's former chief of staff), Gwen Pinson (former attorney in the Finance Cabinet), Ken Bohac (former inspector general for the Finance Cabinet), William Landrum (former Finance Cabinet Secretary), Scott Brinkman (former secretary of the Executive Cabinet), Chris Lewis (former attorney in Finance and Administration), Lesley Bilby (former executive director in the office of legal services in the Personnel Cabinet) and Andrew McNeil (former senior adviser to Bevin).
Krista Locke, deputy communications director for Cameron, said the Beshear administration is "fixated" on investigating Bevin's pardons, even though the subpoenas asked for more than just pardon records.
"Neither the fact that the FBI was asked to conduct its own investigation nor the reality that gubernatorial pardons fall outside the realm of the Finance Cabinet's authority has dissuaded Gov. Beshear from his politically motivated quest," Locke said. "These demands are clearly an attempt to settle a political vendetta and to distract our office from fulfilling our duties related to current litigation."
A subpoena has also been issued to Pinson, the former general counsel of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, according to a filing in Fayette Circuit Court. Pinson is being represented by state Rep. Jason Nemes, a Louisville Republican, who is an attorney.
"My client acted appropriately and the subpoena should be quashed for a number of reasons," Nemes said, citing an argument in the Kentucky Supreme Court over whether the finance cabinet has the right to issue subpoenas.
Nemes said at least six subpoenas have been sent out.
Crystal Staley, Beshear's communication director, said the Finance and Administration Cabinet is seeking the documents so it can fully comply with open records requests submitted by media outlets.
"The Finance and Administration Cabinet is not investigating the attorney general or his office," Staley said. "Instead it is seeking the return of public records that former employees of government cabinets or the governor's office took with them that are property of those entities. In many cases, that Cabinet has a legal duty to retain the records under the constitution or state statutes."
Beshear, a Democrat, has repeatedly said he is "done with politics" throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but the targets of the subpoenas are tied to his longstanding political battle with Bevin. In April 2016, Bevin launched an investigation into the administration of former Gov. Steve Beshear, Andy Beshear's father, citing "questionable activities" in the elder Beshear's administration.
Bevin would go on to offer a contract to the Indiana law firm Taft, Stettinius & Hollister for $1 million. At least $600,000 was paid to the firm.
The Finance and Administration Cabinet alleges it has records that show the Bevin administration inappropriately offered the contract to Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, through meeting with the firm before awarding the contract. It alleges former officials may have manipulated the scoring to help the law firm get the contract.
In 2017, the law firm released a report that "revealed a pattern of Beshear Administration officials intentionally disregarding and violating Kentucky laws that forbid soliciting state employees for financial contributions." The report highlighted issues that resulted in ethics violations and fines for five former Steve Beshear Administration officials: Tim Longmeyer, William Ryan, Walter Gaffield, Charles Geveden and Erik Dunnigan.
Based on documents from the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, the Taft report did not play a large role in those charges.
The law firm also looked into a $3 million no-bid contract to a technology company that retained Frank Lassiter as a consultant. Lassiter is the husband of Mary Lassiter, who was a top official in the administration of former Gov. Steve Beshear. Lassiter has fought the subpoena from the Finance Cabinet all the way to the Supreme Court.
When the report was issued, Staley, who was also Beshear's spokeswoman when he was attorney general, implied that both the report and contract were politically motivated.
"If Matt Bevin believed that wrongdoing occurred, he should have sent his allegations to sworn law enforcement in the Kentucky State Police or Executive Branch Ethics Commission to investigate," Staley said at the time.
Staley said she could not comment on whether the Beshear administration or others referred any allegations to the Kentucky State Police or Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
