AP
Lt. Gov. says Ky. pardons were strategic
Wed Feb 28, 7:43 PM ET

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher pardoned members of his staff in the midst of a patronage probe to try to keep the investigation from incriminating anyone in the governor's office, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence told a newspaper.

"I'm quite confident that there was a fear about how high it would go up in this administration," Pence told the Lexington Herald-Leader in a story published Wednesday, two days after Pence endorsed a rival to Fletcher's re-election bid.

Asked about Pence's comment, Fletcher Chief of Staff Stan Cave said Pence had become the mouthpiece for the governor's chief opponents.

"The description of events is pure fantasy from a scorned self-described former wingman," Cave said.

Fletcher later told reporters that he would not answer questions about "fantasies of folks that will drag a campaign through the mud."

"That's not what I'm about, and that's not what this campaign's going to be about," he said.

Fletcher was indicted last year on charges that he illegally rewarded political supporters with protected state jobs. The indictment was later dismissed in a deal with prosecutors, but the special grand jury issued its findings in the case, saying Fletcher had approved a "widespread and coordinated plan" to skirt state hiring laws.

In the middle of the hiring investigation, but before Fletcher himself was indicted, Fletcher issued blanket pardons in August 2005 to anyone in his administration who might be caught up in the probe.

Pence, a former U.S. attorney, told the Herald-Leader that Fletcher made the deal to end the hiring investigation "to keep anything else from coming out."

He said the pardons effectively allowed "the executive branch to shut down the judicial branch."

On Monday, Pence endorsed former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup of Louisville, one of two challengers to Fletcher in the GOP primary this year. Pence, who was elected on Fletcher's ticket in 2003, parted ways with the governor last year and declined to run for re-election with him.

Seven Democrats also are vying for the top job, including state Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who prosecuted Fletcher before agreeing to the deal.

Stumbo backed Pence's comments and said prosecutors agreed to drop the charges only because they believed Fletcher would not stand trial.

"There was from the state of the investigation a deliberate attempt on behalf of the governor and the executive branch to cover up the acts which were alleged," Stumbo said.
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