Quick Takes

House GOP Whip Nemes seeking impeachment of Eastern Kentucky prosecutor over nude photo scandal

By: - January 3, 2023 5:56 pm

FRANKFORT — A Kentucky Republican lawmaker filed a resolution Tuesday aimed at impeaching an Eastern Kentucky prosecutor accused of trading favors to a defendant in exchange for nude photos and videos of the defendant.?

The resolution by Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, targets Ronnie Goldy, the commonwealth’s attorney for the 21st Judicial Circuit serving Rowan, Menifee, Bath and Montgomery counties. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported last year on Goldy allegedly asking for nude photos and videos from a defendant, citing hundreds of pages of social media messages in its report.?

The resolution would have the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives appoint a committee to determine if there is sufficient evidence to initiate a formal impeachment proceeding. Following an investigation, the committee would issue a report of findings and a recommendation to the House of Representatives on whether to impeach the elected official in question.?

It would take a majority of House members to impeach. The Kentucky Senate would hold a trial for the elected official, and two-thirds of senators present would be needed to convict and remove the elected prosecutor from office.?

“The allegations generally are, there were sexual favors in return for favorable prosecutorial conduct,” Nemes said. “My resolution is to put the impeachment committee together to allow Mr. Goldy to defend himself. And then we’ll determine whether or not we ought to move it over to the Senate for prosecution.”?

Nemes, the House majority whip, said he wasn’t sure what Goldy’s reaction would be to the impeachment resolution and that Goldy could possibly resign.?

Goldy was booted last year from the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Association, a state group representing the elected prosecutors, after the group became aware of information about Goldy that was “well below” the standards set for commonwealth’s attorneys. Shortly after his expulsion from the association, the Kentucky Supreme Court suspended him.?

Attempts to reach Goldy and his attorney Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

Liam Niemeyer
Liam Niemeyer

Liam covers government and policy in Kentucky and its impacts throughout the Commonwealth for the Kentucky Lantern. He most recently spent four years reporting award-winning stories for WKMS Public Radio in Murray.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

MORE FROM AUTHOR