Kentucky鈥檚 Republican House Speaker David Osborne says a committee will be formed to determine whether Gov. Andy Beshear should be impeached, after asking for it.
Though the House can receive impeachment petitions at any time, the creation of an official impeachment committee is unusual, said Frankfort attorney Anna Whites.
Whites worked for former Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo. She said during Stumbo鈥檚 tenure, impeachment petitions would be sent to the Judiciary or Rules Committee for review, and then in most cases, 鈥渢hey would be determined not to be worth moving forward on.鈥�
鈥淚 think it is unusual to immediately appoint a committee to review it prior to letting Judiciary or Rules have a first look at it, since they have experience in this,鈥� Whites said.
Osborne was a member of the Rules Committee when Stumbo was speaker and White said 鈥渉e is clearly familiar with this process.鈥�
The four citizens who filed the petition asking for Beshear to be impeached are Jacob Clark of Grayson County, Tony Wheatley of Mercer County, Randall Daniel of Bullitt County and Andrew Cooperrider of Fayette County.
Cooperrider is the owner of Lexington coffee shop Brewed, which continued to provide indoor dining during Beshear鈥檚 coronavirus restrictions in November and December.
The petitioners accuse Beshear of violating the Kentucky Constitution by imposing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, including the mandatory closure of non-essential businesses and in-person religious services early on during the state of emergency.
The that Beshear has the power to issue orders that attempt to slow the spread of the virus.
Speaker Osborne said on Friday that the House doesn鈥檛 have a choice but to 鈥渢ake action鈥� on the impeachment petition.
鈥淭he constitution is very brief and very vague about what we have to do. But we have to take it seriously. This is a serious issue, regardless of whether anything comes of it or not,鈥� Osborne said.
As of Friday, Osborne said he has not read the petition yet.
The petition was filed after the 鈥淚mpeach Beshear鈥� rally last Tuesday, which featured a that said 鈥渕ake hanging traitors great again.鈥�
Beshear鈥檚 communications director Crystal Staley called the petition, 鈥渟illy and completely unjustified,鈥� comparing it to rhetoric that spurred the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.
鈥淭he Kentucky Supreme Court ruled every step the Governor has taken is legal. But more concerning, this is the type of dangerous, angry rhetoric and disinformation that led to Wednesday鈥檚 attack on the U.S. Capitol and our very democracy. People are watching and listening. Everyone has a duty to be responsible,鈥� Staley said.
The House鈥檚 creation of an official impeachment committee comes after the Republican-led legislature limiting Beshear鈥檚 powers and boosting their own.
No governor has been impeached in the history of Kentucky.
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