The Kentucky Merit Scandal #82-93

#82 ERNIE FLETCHER
FORMER GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY
#83 DAN DRUEN
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONER, KENTUCKY
#84 TIM HAZLETTE
TRANSPORTATION CABINET PERSONNEL DIRECTOR, KY
#85 DARRELL BROCK
CHAIRMAN OF KENTUCKY GOP
#86 BASIL TURBYFILL
PERSONAL ADVISOR TO THE GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY
#87 DICK MURGATROYD
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY
#88 JIM ADAMS
DEPUTY TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY
#89 CORY MEADOWS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
#90 VINCENT FIELDS
MEMBER OUTREACH OFFICE, LOCAL INITIATIVES FOR A NEW KENTUCKY
#91 DAVE DISPONETT
TREASURER, KENTUCKY REPUBLICAN PARTY
#92 J. MARSHALL HUGHES
VOLUNTEER ADVISOR TO GOV. FLETCHER
#93 BILL NIGHBERT,
ACTING TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY, KENTUCKY

Man, look at all these guys! It's really fun when you get a whole slew of GOP cocksuckers who get caught in the SAME scandal and have to be pardoned out of it. And these are just the ones pardoned by Fletcher where the pardon STUCK. There is one more that deserves special consideration. LOL

What was this all about? Well, besides being a right-wing headcase, Fletcher was determined to start throwing all Democrats out of the executive branch and replacing them with his cronies. This is illegal. What was Fletcher's defense? LMAO! The same old GOP Cocksucker whine; "The Democrats do it too!"

In GOP Cocksucker eyes, this is supposed to excuse their OWN rotten behavior.

Here's what Fletcher himself, in a deal he reached with the AGs office, agreed happened.

In 2005, Douglas W. Doerting, the assistant personnel director for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet sent a 275-page complaint to the AG office saying that they was something funny going on in the Transportation department and that AG Greg Strumbo better have a look.

From Wikipedia
- June 14, 2005: a special grand jury that was impaneled by the Attorney General in Franklin County handed down indictments of three Transportation Cabinet officials: Acting Transportation Secretary and GOP Cocksucker #92 (BILL NIGHBERT), [remember this asshole, cause his mouth got him indicted TWICE] Deputy Secretary and GOP Cocksucker #88 (JIM ADAMS) and administrative services commissioner and GOP Cocksucker #83 (DAN DRUEN).

- July 7, 2005: more indictments were handed down including Fletcher's deputy chief of staff.

- July 11, 2005, three more indictments were handed down: against state Republican Party chairman and GOP Cocksucker #85 (DARRELL BROCK JR.), who was also the former commissioner of the Governor's Office for Local Development; GOP Cocksucker #86 (BASIL TURBYFILL), the Governor's personnel adviser, and deputy personnel secretary; and Bob Wilson, deputy personnel secretary.

- August 29, 2005: Fletcher announced he had granted blanket criminal pardons to nine administration officials, including deputy chief of staff Richard Murgatroyd, who were or might have been indicted by the grand jury in this case (he did not pardon himself).

- August 30, 2005: Fletcher invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination before the grand jury and refused to testify.

- September 14, 2005: Fletcher fires nine employees, including four of the nine he pardoned two weeks earlier. Fletcher called for the firing of state Republican Party chair Darrell Brock, Jr. due to Brock's role in the merit scandal.

- September 17, 2005: In a big "fuck you" to Fletcher, GOP leaders voted to retain Brock as state party leader.

- October 24, 2005: Fletcher filed a motion asking Franklin Circuit Court Judge William Graham to order the grand jury to stop issuing indictments for offenses that occurred prior to Fletcher’s August 29 blanket pardon and to bar it from writing a final report on its findings.

- November 16, 2005: Judge Graham denied Fletcher’s motion. The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed Graham later.

- May 18, 2006: The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the lower court decision in a 4-2 decision holding that the grand jury investigating state hiring practices by the Fletcher administration could not issue any more indictments for offenses covered by Fletcher's blanket pardon for offenses related to the hiring investigation. The court also rejected the attorney general's challenge to Fletcher's authority to issue such a blanket pardon. Fletcher's indictment and the indictments of two officials for offenses allegedly to have occurred after the pardons were not affected. The Court as constituted for that decision included a justice appointed by Fletcher as directed by the state constitution in instances in which more than one justice is recused. The court also ruled that the grand jury could issue a general report of its findings from the yearlong investigation; a later Court of Appeals decision held that any such grand jury report could not name pardoned individuals.

- July 15, 2006, Judge David E. Melcher dismissed the indictment against Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert, ruling that part of the alleged offense was covered by Fletcher's blanket pardon. The judge left open the option for prosecutors to seek a new indictment against Nighbert focusing solely on conduct not covered by the pardon. It was Nighbert who, on getting mad at someone in the transportation department and holding up her raise, said that 20 years ago he would have punched her in the mouth.

Well, that was sure a fun year! Unless you were a GOP cocksucker that is. Yeah, Fletcher escaped being thrown into the slammer, all right, but here's what happened in 2007 when a stubborn Fletcher ran for reelection:

Steve Beshear 619,553 (58.7%)
Ernie Fletcher 435,772 (41.3%)

Beshear spanked Fletcher for more than 17% of the vote! That's huge! Not only did he lose but he discredited the party as well! LMAO!

[UPDATE: You know what's really weird? Fletcher beat GOP Cocksucker #324 (STEVE NUNN) out for this job. Now Nunn has been arrested for the murder of his ex-fiancee. So in the GOP Cocksucker Primary, the people had their choice between a murderer or a crook. So they took the crook. No one can say Kentuckians don't value human life!]

S. Olson