Judge issues ruling on former Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes' ethics charges

A court has cleared former Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes of violating Kentucky's executive branch ethics code.

Grimes was accused of misusing her access to the state’s Voter Registration System during her 2015 re-election campaign. Those charges were unfounded, according to a ruling issued Monday by Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd.

The ethics commission charges also fell outside the statute of limitations, Shepherd said.

Shepherd said “reasonable people may disagree” on whether Grimes “was exercising legitimate discretion in gathering and sharing public information regarding voter information” but she did not violate any specific statutes or administrative regulations.

“Allegations of misconduct based on the Commission’s subjective ethical judgement ... are not sufficient,” Shepherd wrote.

Shepherd noted Grimes’ actions had been under investigation by both the Attorney General and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission for over eight years. A lengthy investigation by Mark Metcalf, who was appointed to investigate the matter in 2018 by then-Attorney General Andy Beshear, failed to result in any criminal charges, Shepherd said.

The ethics commission alleged Grimes downloaded voter lists for personal purposes and without following the proper procedures, and that she improperly shared new voter registration data with the Speaker of the House.

Shepherd said the ethics commission failed to “identify any illegal or unethical use of such data.”

Who is Alison Lundergan Grimes?

Grimes, a Democrat, was elected Kentucky Secretary of State in 2011 and re-elected in 2015.

Grimes ran for U.S. Senate in 2014 but failed to unseat Mitch McConnell.

A Lexington attorney, Grimes is the daughter of Jerry Lundergan, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party and state representative.

Jerry Lundergan was convicted of election finance violations in 2020 and sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.

Specifically, Lundergan was convicted for being part of a scheme to funnel more than $200,000 in illegal campaign donations to Grimes’ Senate campaign against McConnell and to falsify campaign records to cover up the donations.

Will the Shepherd ruling be appealed?

It’s unclear whether that the Executive Branch Ethics Commission will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals.

“The commission has taken it under review,” said Susan Clary, the commission's executive director.

Jon Salomon, one of Grimes’ attorneys, said his team is pleased with the ruling and that the Franklin County Circuit Court had “completely vindicated” Grimes.

“Secretary Grimes should have never been investigated for simply doing the job that Kentucky voters twice elected her to do — and the court has appropriately cleared her of all charges,” Salomon said.

Reach Rebecca Grapevine at rgrapevine@courier-journal.comor follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @RebGrapevine.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ex-Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Grimes cleared of ethics charges