FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky House has formed an impeachment committee, as required by law, after four citizens filed a petition against Gov. Andy Beshear.
The petition claims the Democratic governor’s COVID-19 mandates "violated the rights of millions of Kentuckians." Both Republicans and Democrats on the newly formed committee said the process will be based on the law, not politics.
“This committee will be run fairly,” said Louisville Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, the committee chairman. “The governor will have every opportunity to make his case. The petitioners will have every opportunity to make their case.”
Nemes said he has received many emails calling for Beshear’s impeachment but first heard about a possible petition just a few days ago.
“It's not surprising to me that something like this would happen," he said. “I didn't expect it or not expect it, but I'm not stunned by it.”
The four Republicans and three Democrats on the committee could dismiss the case right away or decide to gather more evidence and hold hearings.
Nemes said any decisions will not be made lightly.
“We're talking about whether to impeach our chief executive who was elected by a vote of the people,” he said.
Lexington Rep. George Brown, one of the Democrats on the committee, had a similar message.
“We want to be fair to the citizens of the commonwealth, and, subsequently, we want to be fair to the governor,” he said.
But Brown conceded that the current political climate will make the process even more difficult.
“I think cooler heads need to prevail, and that's where I am,” he said.
During his Monday briefing, Beshear said the impeachment petition has "zero grounds," pointing out that the Kentucky Supreme Court has already ruled his emergency orders legal.
“We don't need it," he said. "It shouldn't go anywhere. I don't anticipate it will go anywhere."
The process has barely begun, but if the committee recommends impeachment, and if the full House approves, the Senate must then decide whether to hold a trial, which would result in either the governor’s acquittal or removal.
Nemes said no decisions have been made, and no outcome has been determined.
“The evidence will lead us to where we need to go,” he said.
In the more than two-century history of the commonwealth, a Kentucky governor has never been impeached.
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