Daniel Cameron addressed supporters in Louisville on election night, Nov. 7, 2023, after losing his race for governor. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)
Daniel Cameron, a former Republican Kentucky attorney general who is seeking election to the U.S. Senate, criticized the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission Wednesday over what he called “a bogus charge of violating state ethics law.”
In a news release, Cameron’s campaign says the commission has charged him with an ethics violation stemming from donations collected by his 2023 campaign for governor.
In June 2023, the AFL-CIO filed a complaint with the commission seeking an investigation of allegations that Cameron had solicited executives of Edgewater Recovery Center while his attorney general’s office was investigating the organization.
At the time, Cameron’s gubernatorial campaign said it had refunded the donations and canceled a fundraiser Edgewater had planned to hold for Cameron after becoming aware of a possible conflict of interest.
On Wednesday, Cameron’s Senate campaign issued additional details aimed at refuting any allegation that he used his influence as AG by failing to recuse himself and his office from the Edgewater matter.
According to a 2023 report from the Daily Beast, Cameron recused himself from the Edgewater investigation two days after his office received an open records request for Cameron’s recusals.
Cameron, who lost the 2023 race to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, chalked up the charge to the work of a “Democrat-controlled Executive Branch Ethics Commission.” In a statement he called it “political persecution.” Cameron also shared a video on X about the charge and said the commission was “weaponizing government to attack a political opponent.”
Cameron said he’d never run “from tough fights. Not when angry mobs protested on my front lawn. And certainly not when the left tried to strip away your constitutional rights.”
“I’m going to fight this just like I’ll continue fighting for the great people of this Commonwealth. Every single day,” he continued.
The Kentucky Executive Branch Commission has the power to review the conduct of executive branch officials and employees, which include the governor and attorney general. Beshear, who is serving his second term as governor, has appointed all members of the commission.