The FBI is reportedly investigating former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's last-minute pardons after he stirred controversy by pardoning more than 650 people when he lost his seat to Democratic Party challenger Andy Beshear last fall.
State Rep. Chris Harris, D-Forest Hills, confirmed to The Louisville Courier-Journal that a criminal investigator had contacted him about the former Republican governor's pardons, but wouldn't say which branch of law enforcement the person represented, according to a Monday report.
"I can confirm that I have been contacted by someone looking into the pardons that were issued by Gov. Bevin on his way out the door," Harris said, according to the newspaper. "The impression I got is that there was an investigation ramping up."
Harris would not, however, say what he was asked, but sources close to the inquiry told The Journal that he'd spoken with an FBI agent.
The agency would not "confirm or deny" the investigation, but Bevin said he welcomes one.
"If the truth comes out, there will be people involved in this process on the other side of the equation that have very good reason to be very concerned right now," Bevin said. "And some of them are the loudest people right now."
Bevin's pardons included one for a man whose brother had run a fundraiser for him, The Journal previously reported.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said the pardons were "completely inappropriate” adding that he didn't approve of Bevin's actions.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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