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| Matt Bevin, Kentucky Governor, Orders Inquiry Into Beshear Administration | Matt Bevin, Kentucky Governor, Orders Inquiry Into Beshear Administration |
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| Kentucky’s Republican governor on Tuesday ordered an investigation into what he described as wrongdoing under his Democratic predecessor, charging that state employees were coerced into contributing to political campaigns and that a contract was improperly steered to a politically connected company. | Kentucky’s Republican governor on Tuesday ordered an investigation into what he described as wrongdoing under his Democratic predecessor, charging that state employees were coerced into contributing to political campaigns and that a contract was improperly steered to a politically connected company. |
| Gov. Matt Bevin’s allegation of “greed and oftentimes corruption” escalates the feud between the new governor, who took office in December, and the Beshear family: former Gov. Steven L. Beshear and his son Andy, the state attorney general. On April 11, Andy Beshear sued Mr. Bevin, saying the governor acted illegally in cutting higher education spending without approval by the Legislature, and Steven Beshear is leading a public-relations campaign against his successor’s moves to roll back the state’s expansion of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. | |
| A former state official close to the Beshears, Timothy M. Longmeyer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal bribery charge, a case Mr. Bevin referred to in calling for a new investigation. As a member of Steve Beshear’s cabinet, Mr. Longmeyer steered contracts related to the health plan for state employees to a company that paid him kickbacks. Mr. Longmeyer briefly served this year as a deputy attorney general, under Andy Beshear, before resigning. | A former state official close to the Beshears, Timothy M. Longmeyer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal bribery charge, a case Mr. Bevin referred to in calling for a new investigation. As a member of Steve Beshear’s cabinet, Mr. Longmeyer steered contracts related to the health plan for state employees to a company that paid him kickbacks. Mr. Longmeyer briefly served this year as a deputy attorney general, under Andy Beshear, before resigning. |
| In a brief statement, Mr. Bevin said that in his months in office, his administration had found evidence that state workers were forced to contribute last year to the campaigns of Andy Beshear and Jack Conway, the previous attorney general, who was Mr. Bevin’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor. And he charged that the state had awarded a $3 million no-bid contract to a company with ties to Steve Beshear’s administration. | In a brief statement, Mr. Bevin said that in his months in office, his administration had found evidence that state workers were forced to contribute last year to the campaigns of Andy Beshear and Jack Conway, the previous attorney general, who was Mr. Bevin’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor. And he charged that the state had awarded a $3 million no-bid contract to a company with ties to Steve Beshear’s administration. |
| Mr. Bevin said he had directed an official in his cabinet to hire an outside law firm to investigate the matters. “A thorough, independent investigation like this can expose and cast light upon prior unsavory — and perhaps illegal — practices,” he said. | Mr. Bevin said he had directed an official in his cabinet to hire an outside law firm to investigate the matters. “A thorough, independent investigation like this can expose and cast light upon prior unsavory — and perhaps illegal — practices,” he said. |
| Andy Beshear released a statement saying that “the appropriate agency, however, for investigating the governor’s allegations is the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission, an independent agency, and not a cabinet that answers to the governor.” He accused Mr. Bevin of overstepping his authority and wasting public money. | Andy Beshear released a statement saying that “the appropriate agency, however, for investigating the governor’s allegations is the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission, an independent agency, and not a cabinet that answers to the governor.” He accused Mr. Bevin of overstepping his authority and wasting public money. |
| During his time as governor, Steven Beshear made Kentucky a national model for extending government-funded health insurance to more people through the Affordable Care Act, by creating a state-run insurance marketplace, Kynect, and expanding Medicaid eligibility. | During his time as governor, Steven Beshear made Kentucky a national model for extending government-funded health insurance to more people through the Affordable Care Act, by creating a state-run insurance marketplace, Kynect, and expanding Medicaid eligibility. |
| Mr. Beshear and his health policies were popular, but voters last year chose Mr. Bevin, a conservative newcomer who vowed to undo much of his predecessor’s efforts, which he said were too costly to sustain. He has set about dismantling Kynect, which would put consumers into an insurance exchange run by the federal government, and he has said he will pare the Medicaid expansion. |