Gerth: Louisville Republicans show they're MAGA-like as they refuse to punish Piagentini

Exactly what will it take for Republicans – the party that used to talk about personal responsibility – to hold one of their own accountable for ethical failures?

For former President Donald Trump, threatening to withhold foreign aid if Ukraine’s leader didn’t announce that his government was opening a fabricated investigation of a political rival’s son wasn’t enough. Neither was leading an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Now we know, at the local level, it’s not taking a $240,000 payoff after helping a company get a $40 million grant.

That's what Louisville Metro Council Member Anthony Piagentini did. The only punishment he'll get is a $3,000 fine from the Louisville Metro Ethics Commission − unless the feds swoop in and charge him with public corruption.

It used to be that politicians in both parties could be counted on to step up and do the right thing when politicians broke laws or committed serious breaches.

It was a group of Republicans − U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, of Arizona; U.S. House Minority Leader John Rhodes, also of Arizona; and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott, of Pennsylvania – whose words proved to be the final straw that caused Richard Nixon to resign in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

“There’s not more than 15 senators for you,” Goldwater reportedly told Nixon the day before Nixon finally announced he was leaving.

Even Mitch McConnell, who long ago gave up acting ethically, played an important role in pushing former Sen. Robert Packwood out of office after he was accused of sexually harassing women.

Here locally, it was Democrats who led the charge in ousting Judy Green and Dan Johnson from the Metro Council.

In 2011, three Democrats and two Republicans filed charges against Green accusing her of nepotism and using a city-funded summer jobs program to benefit members of her family. The Louisville Metro Council Court, made up of the 20 council members who didn’t file the charges (13 Democrats and seven Republicans) voted unanimously to expel her from the council.

And in 2013, the council convicted Barbara Shanklin of violating the ethics ordinance for steering neighborhood development funds to an organization that paid her family members, but voted not to remove her.

Of the 12 Democrats on the Council Court, eight voted to find her guilty and four voted not guilty, but when it came time to remove her, the vote from the Democrats was five for removal and seven against.

The last time a member was removed was in 2017 when Johnson was accused of sexual harassment. He originally cut a deal to stay on the council, but when he violated terms of the agreement, a three-member panel made up entirely of Democrats, assigned to monitor his compliance, voted unanimously to remove him.

You get the picture.

Last October, the Louisville Metro Ethics Commission, made up of Republicans and Democrats, found that Anthony Piagentini violated six ethics rules after he helped push through a $40 million grant for a group called Louisville Healthcare CEO Council – and then accepted a 12-month contract worth $240,000 to work for the organization.

The Ethics Commission recommended he be removed from office, and the investigator for the commission testified recently that he turned over his findings to the FBI for potential criminal charges.

A Metro Council charging committee in turn charged Piagentini with eight counts ranging from lying to an investigator to improperly soliciting or accepting a promise of employment, and sought his removal.

After three weeks of a trial, not a single Republican voted to convict Piagentini of anything. For Piagentini to be convicted, all Democrats and at least one Republican would have had to vote "guilty."

Republicans had eight votes on each of the eight counts, and every one of them was a “no” vote.

Sixty-four votes. Sixty-four “nos.”

Democrats, on the other hand, appeared to take their jobs more seriously.

Some of them voted “no” on some charges and “yes” on others. Some voted “yes” on every count while others voted “no” on everything.

In his closing argument, prosecutor Kent Wicker told the council that it wasn’t just Piagentini who was on trial – it was the entire council.

On Monday night the council − at least the eight Republicans who voted to acquit their buddy − found itself guilty of political hackery.

Perhaps the U.S. Attorney’s office will sweep in and charge Piagentini with the crimes the Ethics Commission says he committed – just like it did when former Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron shirked his duty and overlooked crimes committed by Louisville Metro Police officers who lied when they obtained a search warrant for Breonna Taylor’s apartment.

They likely won’t feel the embarrassment they should feel, however.

Republicans in Washington have taught them there is no shame in hackery, even when defending the indefensible.

Joseph Gerth can be reached at 502-582-4702 or by email at jgerth@courierjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Republicans who refuse to hold Piagentini responsible