LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville councilman is fighting back as he faces possible removal from Metro Council.
Councilman Anthony Piagentini responded to the charges against him during a council meeting Thursday evening.
For more than nine minutes during the meeting, the council clerk read through the eight charges filed against Piagentini by the Council Charging Committee, all of whom are Democrats.
It's a process the Republican councilman facing removal called "partisan, unprecedented, and increasingly legally bankrupt."
The committee started meeting shortly after the Louisville Ethics Commission found Piagentini committed violations for his role in a $40 million federal grant awarded to his future employer, the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council.Â
In their complaint, filed earlier this week, the charging committee included the six violations from the commission and added two more, including perjury.
"It is incumbent on all of us to review the evidence, come in with an open mind," Council President Markus Winkler, D-District 17, said. "Councilman Piagentini deserves due process. I think we need to review that evidence and then render a decision."
Piagentini spoke after the charges were read Thursday, reiterating that he disputes the ethics ruling — which he is appealing — then attacked the two new charges.
"These additions are completely beyond the legal purview of this committee or this council," Piagentini, R-District 19, said. "And even bringing them in this process would deprive me of multiple constitutional rights. "
Winkler said Thursday the council does not have criminal jurisdiction in the case.
When asked why the perjury charge was filed, Winkler said that only the charging committee could answer. Committee Chair Cindi Fowler, D-District 14, declined to respond after the meeting.
If there is a trial, it would be expected to start sometime in the beginning of 2024. As council president, Winkler would preside, and the jury would be the 25 members other than Piagentini.
A majority of 18 would be needed to vote for removal, which would have to include at least one Republican.
A copy of the written complaint can be found in the PDF below:
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