(The Center Square) – A former Kentucky Democratic Party chairman convicted of illegal campaign contributions received one of the final pardons issued by former President Joe Biden, a measure slammed by Bluegrass State Republicans.
Biden issued a pardon to Jerry Lundergan, just hours before President Donald Trump took the oath of office to become the country’s 47th president. In September 2019, Lundergan was convicted in a Kentucky federal court for making corporate contributions totaling more than $200,000 to the 2014 U.S. Senate campaign of Allison Lundergan Grimes, his daughter. The jury also found him guilty of conspiracy and falsifying documents.
A judge sentenced Lundergan to 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release in July 2020. Thanks to Biden’s pardon, Lundergan will have the civil rights he forfeited due to his conviction, such as the right to vote, restored.
Pardons have been an issue discussed in Kentucky for years since former Gov. Matt Bevin received criticism for the ones he issued before leaving office in 2019.
While state lawmakers cannot do anything to challenge federal pardons, some have proposed taking steps to keep future Kentucky governors in check. State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, filed Senate Bill 126 earlier this month. It would allow voters to consider a constitutional amendment to prohibit governors from issuing pardons starting 30 days before a gubernatorial election and ending five weeks after the election when the winning candidate is inaugurated.
“This reform is necessary to uphold transparency, integrity and public confidence in our justice system,” McDaniel said in a statement Tuesday.
Lundergan Grimes served as Kentucky’s secretary of state from 2012 to 2020. In 2014, she served as the Democratic candidate against U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Jerry Lundergan used money from one of his holding companies to cover costs for consultants, robocalls and other campaign expenses. Lundergan did not share with his daughter’s campaign staff the true source of the contributions, leading campaign officials to file, unwittingly, incorrect financial reports.
McConnell easily won re-election in 2014, beating Lundergan Grimes with 56.2% of the vote, or more than 222,000 out of the 1.4 million votes cast.
The elder Lundergan served four terms as a state representative in the 1980s. During his latter time as a legislator, he also briefly served as the chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party, but he resigned as chairman after it was learned his catering company received a no-bid state contract valued at more than $150,000.
A state court found him guilty of a felony charge in connection with the no-bid work in December 1989, which led to his resignation as a lawmaker. An appeals court eventually tossed the conviction, saying Lundergan should have faced misdemeanor charges. That case was dropped due to the statute of limitations.
Lundergan also led the state party from 2005 to 2007.
The Republican Party of Kentucky wasted little time in slamming the now-former president for adding to “his legacy of championing corruption” with his pardon of Lundergan.
“After all, (Biden) and his family have long benefitted from the same ‘Good Old Boys’ Club’ that protects Democratic Party insiders from accountability,” the Kentucky GOP said in a statement Tuesday. “Jerry Lundergan, a longtime Democratic establishment loyalist, exemplifies this cronyism.”
