Robert Goforth

A legislative committee dismissed a petition to impeach Republican state Rep. Robert Goforth, who was indicted for allegedly strangling and threatening to kill his wife last year. 

The Kentucky House of Representatives Impeachment Committee is still reviewing petitions against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

But on Thursday night, the panel heard testimony from two law professors who argued state law doesn’t allow for the impeachment of legislators.

Paul Salamanca, a law professor at the University of Kentucky, said it was a matter of constitutionality.

The Republican committee reviewing impeachment petitions against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has dismissed two of the cases but is still asking the governor to respond to one of them.

The committee is also still reviewing petitions filed against Attorney General Daniel Cameron and state Rep. Robert Goforth, both Republicans.

Three grand jurors from the Breonna Taylor case filed a petition to impeach Cameron last month, alleging he misled the public about the case and misrepresented the grand jury’s actions.Six of Goforth’s constituents called for him to be removed following his indictment for allegedly assaulting and threatening to kill his wife last year.

Republican Rep. Jason Nemes is the chair of the committee, which the state House of Representatives formed after receiving the initial citizen petition calling for Beshear to be removed because of his role responding to the coronavirus pandemic in Kentucky.

The impeachment petition filed against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear continues to drag through the legislative process while petitions against Republican officials haven’t been heard yet.

After meeting for two and a half hours behind closed doors, the Kentucky House of Representatives Impeachment Committee emerged to say that one of the four citizens who filed the petition against Beshear earlier this month wanted to be removed from it.

Rep. Jason Nemes, a Repubilcan from Louisville and the committee’s chair, said the committee took no action except deciding to send Beshear a letter “seeking a little bit of additional information.”

The Kentucky legislative committee reviewing impeachment petitions against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican State Rep. Robert Goforth will meet this afternoon.

The committee will also eventually review a petition filed by grand jurors from the Breonna Taylor case against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Though, since the legislature is in the middle of a three-week break, the petition against Cameron won’t be officially filed until lawmakers return on Feb. 2.

Citizen impeachment petitions usually aren’t publicized and, in the past, the state House of Representatives has dismissed them after a quick review by the House Judiciary Committee.

Eight people have filed an impeachment petition against Republican state Rep. Robert Goforth, who was indicted for assault charges last year after he allegedly attempted to hogtie and strangle his wife with an ethernet cord.

Goforth represents the 89th House district, which includes Jackson County and parts of Laurel and Madison counties. He was easily reelected last year despite the charges.

The petition, filed by eight of Goforth’s constituents in Madison County, says he should be impeached for “breach of public trust, felonious acts of violence upon women, abuse of office and state property, and other misfeasance and malfeasance.”

Republican state Rep. Robert Goforth has been charged with felony strangulation, assault and terroristic threatening following a domestic violence incident early Tuesday morning.

Goforth was booked in the Laurel County jail shortly after 4:00 a.m. Tuesday. He was arrested in East Bernstadt, his hometown.

According to Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, Goforth was arrested at 3:10 am Tuesday after a woman alleged he had assaulted her at home, where there were three small children present. According to police, the children were not physically harmed.

The alleged victim said that Goforth threatened to kill her, according to police. Police reported she had visible marks on her forehead, neck and arms and bruising on her leg.

A record number of Kentucky residents are registered to vote in the May 21 primary election. 

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s office reports that 3,421,796 Kentuckians are registered to vote in the upcoming primary.

That’s 18,891 more registered voters than in the General Election  in 2018.

Looking at the breakdown by political party, Democratic voters represent about 49 percent of the electorate, with about 1,684,200 voters.

A new state lawmaker from eastern Kentucky has become the first Republican to formally launch a campaign for governor as speculation continues over whether Gov. Matt Bevin will run for re-election.

In an announcement Tuesday morning, Rep. Robert Goforth of East Bernstadt criticized Bevin’s character and stance on issues.

“I’m not a New England transplant using the people of Kentucky to feed my ego or audition for a job in Washington D.C.,” Goforth said. “Rather, I empathize with millions of my fellow Kentuckians. I understand and I respect you because I am you.”

An eastern Kentucky lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban women from receiving abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which takes place as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.

The proposal would be one of the most restrictive abortion policies in the country. Similar measures have failed to pass other states or been struck down by courts.

Rep. Robert Goforth, a Republican from East Bernstadt, said he recognizes the bill will likely draw a legal challenge, but that he wants the legislature to take a conservative stand.