KENTUCKY — The Kentucky Senate will hold an impeachment hearing for Attorney Ronnie Lee Goldy, Jr. on March 21 and March 22.
The prosecutor is facing possible impeachment over allegations that he promised a defendant favors in court for nude images of her has submitted his resignation. He resigned Feb. 28.
The Courier Journal first reported in July the hundreds of Facebook messages that had been exchanged between Goldy and the defendant, who testified that the messages were authentic. Goldy had defended himself through a written response to the House impeachment committee, saying the messages the woman sent him were “an extension of the friendship they had developed.”
The Kentucky House of Representatives sent the Senate the articles of impeachment. After that, lawmakers passed Senate Resolution 108, which began the process to plan for Senate impeachment hearings.
It’s the first time the Senate will hold an impeachment hearing and potential trial in 135 years. The last time was in 1888 for State Treasurer “Honest Dick” Tate, who fled to Brazil with nearly $200,000 in state funds. There were also hearing sin 1916 and 1991, but they didn’t go to trial.
“Conducting an impeachment trial in the Senate is uncharted territory for any of us currently living (in office), as the last one occurred over a century ago,” said Senate President Robert Stivers in a press release. “In researching how to proceed with this process, we developed a sound, constitutional plan which provides due process and ensures public office integrity.”
The members selected to sit on the committee are:
- Sen. Brandon Storm, R-London
- Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield
- Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona
- Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray
- Sen. Michael Nemes, R-Shepherdsville
- Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville
- Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington
The Associated Press contributed to this story.