Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo has appointed a bipartisan committee to investigate whether the Gov. Matt Bevin broke the law in his quest to convince lawmakers to switch parties.
The Democratic representative held a press conference this morning and told reporters that the committee will have the power to subpoena witnesses and will submit its report to the legislature before it reconvenes in January.
Bevin's Chief of Staff Blake Brickman called the inquiry a "political farce." He pointed to a voicemail Stumbo left for a Republican state representative saying the allegations against Bevin are "probably not as bad as maybe it was portrayed."
You can hear the voicemail as posted by Bevin's office here.
"This voicemail was left by House Speaker Greg Stumbo 39 days after he called for the Governor’s impeachment," said Bevin's Press Secretary Amanda Stamper. "Stumbo has hit the peak of desperation with his political charade in an attempt to draw attention away from the corruption being exposed in Kentucky’s Democratic Party and his support of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's job-killing agenda."
The impeachment calls stem from a delayed road project in Jessamine County earlier this year.
Two Democratic lawmakers have said Bevin threatened retaliation if they did not switch parties. Brickman "categorically denied" that ever happened.
The election, which will determine which party controls the House, is Nov. 8.
