While Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andy Beshear claims to support fostering an open government without backroom deals, his record fails to match his rhetoric.
This week Beshear claimed that it is his job “to fight for an open government, not for backroom deals and secrecy.” But just months after taking office as attorney general in 2016, Beshear’s deputy attorney general Tim Longmeyer was charged with bribery for partaking in a secret kickback scheme to secure illegal “straw” donations for Kentucky Democrats including Beshear.
Beshear eventually gave away over $14,000 in dirty campaign donations, though the APreports that Behear received at least $22,000 from Longmeyer while further noting that “how much of Beshear’s nearly $5 million in 2015 campaign contributions was tainted is hard to calculate.”
“Andy Beshear talks a big game about open government, but his own former deputy is now sitting behind bars for illegal backroom deals,” said RGA Deputy Communications Director John Burke. “As Kentucky’s top law enforcement official, Beshear couldn’t even stop his closest aide from committing criminal activities right under his nose. He can’t be trusted to lead.”
