House votes to impeach KY prosecutor despite his plan to resign

The Kentucky House voted 97-0 to impeach Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Goldy, a prosecutor accused of providing legal favors for a woman in exchange for nude photos.

Earlier this week, Goldy sent a letter of resignation to Gov. Andy Beshear. According to the letter, provided to the Herald-Leader by the governor’s office, Goldy’s resignation will go into effect on Feb. 28. News of the resignation came one day after Articles of Impeachment were brought against Goldy by the House Impeachment Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Daniel Elliott.

Elliott pushed forward on Thursday by urging the House to continue on with its effort to impeach Goldy in spite of his resignation. In part, Elliott argued that the body would send a message discouraging such conduct.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, said that the vote to impeach Goldy was historic. It’s only the fourth in the legislature’s 231-year history, she said.

“It has truly been an honor to serve in the Commonwealth’s Attorney office for the last 16+ years,” Goldy wrote in the short letter. He is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties.

Kulkarni argued that, given the severity of Goldy’s offenses, it was imperative for the House to continue forward.

“This is a very grave matter that is before us, but I feel and our community feels that today’s vote to impeach is warranted and it sends a powerful message that we will not tolerate (these) types of allegations,” Kulkarni said.

The state Supreme Court suspended Goldy but couldn’t remove him from his elected office as only the House of Representatives could do so.

With the House vote, the case can now be prosecuted before the state Senate.

Elliot said that the timing of the trial will be up to the Senate, and that it’s likely that the House Impeachment Committee will serve in the prosecutorial role.

Goldy wasn’t the only Commonwealth’s Attorney potentially facing impeachment this session. Christian County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling, who was found to have used false information to seek a pardon from former Gov. Matt Bevin’s office, will also resign at the end of the month.