AG Cameron’s office asks FBI to investigate donations to Beshear, Kentucky Democrats

Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigations to investigate donations made by London Mayor Randall Weddle in excess of state and federal campaign finance limits.

Weddle’s credit card was linked to $202,000 in donations made to the Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s re-election campaign. Individual contributions to state campaigns are currently capped at $2,100 and contributions to parties limited to $15,000.

Beshear’s campaign said this week that the contributions linked to Weddle, as well as those contributions to the KDP, either have already been or will be refunded.

Deputy Attorney General Victor Maddox, in a letter sent to the FBI’s Louisville field office, stated that the attorney general’s office was “barred at present from investigating this matter due to controlling ethics opinions.” The letter was provided by the attorney general’s office to the Herald-Leader Thursday.

State ethics opinions released during prior administrations bar attorneys general from investigating a governor’s conduct if they become their political opponent.

In May, Cameron won the GOP gubernatorial nomination and will face Beshear in the general election this November.

“Please accept this letter as a formal request by the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General for the FBI to investigate the circumstances surrounding contributions in the amount of some $202,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Andy Beshear,” Maddox wrote. “These contributions have been the subject of widespread coverage in statewide news outlets. The contributions were ostensibly made by numerous members of the family of London, Kentucky Mayor Randall Weddle and by employees of a company he co-founded, but apparently were charged by Mayor Weddle to his personal credit card.”

The Kentucky Lantern first reported on the donations linked to Weddle’s credit card.

When asked about Weddle’s excess donations at a weekly press conference Thursday morning, Beshear emphasized that he always advises his political campaigns to follow the law and to be transparent.

“My understanding is that the campaign has met each of those requirements, worked directly with KREF explaining everything they knew about the situation and worked to remedy it directly with the regulator. That’s an open, transparent way of trying to do what’s right,” Beshear said.

Beshear did not directly respond to a question about whether or not he believes Weddle should be prosecuted for the donations.

Weddle is also under investigation by the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance for hosting a free gas giveaway during his mayoral campaign, among other things.

Weddle has yet to respond to a request for comment.

This story may be updated.