FRANKFORT, Ky. — A petition seeking the impeachment of Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) was filed Friday by three grand jurors who criticized his handling of an investigation into Breonna Taylor’s shooting death by police on March 13, 2020.


What You Need To Know

  • Three grand jurors from the Breonna Taylor case filed a petition to impeach Attorney General Daniel Cameron Friday

  • They allege Cameron breached public trust and failed to comply with his duties as the state's chief law enforcement official

  • Petitioners also assert that Cameron misrepresented the facts and findings of Taylor's case to the general public

  • This petition is the third filed against a Kentucky official, with Gov. Andy Beshear and Rep. Robert Goforth also seeing impeachment petitions in the past month

Petitioners allege Cameron breached public trust and failed to comply with his duties as the state’s chief law enforcement official. They do not accuse him of any crimes, but impeachment is not considered a criminal proceeding.

The petition is the latest in a flurry of tit-for-tat efforts to impeach Kentucky elected officials. Four Kentucky citizens recently petitioned the state House of Representatives to impeach Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for executive actions he took in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the matter was assigned to a House committee for review.

Beshear’s actions had been upheld by the state Supreme Court, and the governor says there are “zero grounds” for his removal.

Kentucky law requires impeachment petitions to be referred to a House committee but does not require any further action. Under the state’s constitution, the House possesses the sole power of impeachment. An impeachment trial is held in the state Senate, with a conviction requiring the support of two-thirds of the senators present.

The petition against Cameron, signed by a handful of Kentuckians, was submitted to the overwhelmingly Republican Kentucky House. Cameron is a close ally of U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and is seen as a rising GOP star.

Republican House Speaker David Osborne acknowledged that the House received notice of the petition but they will "reserve further comment until our attorneys review it and the committee on committees has an opportunity to act." The full petition can be found below.

Cameron’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The petition’s signers include an attorney who did so on behalf of three grand jurors who have accused Cameron of misleading the public when describing the grand jury proceedings.

Cameron was the special prosecutor who investigated the actions of the Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor during a warrant search last year. The investigation culminated in a grand jury ruling that did not charge any of the officers in the Black woman’s death. The shooting sparked protests in Louisville alongside national protests over racial injustice and police misconduct.

The petition is the latest seeking the ouster of prominent Kentucky officeholders. Another petition is seeking the ouster of Republican state Rep. Robert Goforth for an incident in which he allegedly tried to strangle a woman. Goforth, a former gubernatorial candidate, pleaded not guilty after his indictment on charges of strangulation and assault. The case is pending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story will be updated.

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