Three grand jurors from the Breonna Taylor case have filed an impeachment petition against Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, alleging he misled the public about the case and misrepresented the grand jury’s actions.
They also argue he misused public funds tojoin a multi-state lawsuit against Pennsylvania’s election results and supported unlawful actions as a member of the National Association of Attorneys General’s executive committee,which funded robocalls urging people to march to the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
The grand jurors have remained anonymous, though the petition was filed by Louisville attorney Kevin Glogower on their behalf.
Glogower has since the fall represented the threeunnamedgrandjurors who disputed Cameron’s public statements about the case, what evidence his office presented to the grand jury and what charges they recommended.
Glogower says Cameron harmed the public's faith in the justice system by misrepresenting what he told the grand jury.
"That’s not OK for a public official and it’s not OK for the community at large to get misled," Glogower said. "And now is really not a good time for that to be happening with what is going on in the world."
The citizen impeachment petition is the third filed this month against Kentucky officials.
The little-publicized process gained new traction after four citizens filed apetition to remove Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear from office and the Republican-led legislature took the unusual step of forming an official committee to review the claims.
Then eight citizens filed apetition to have Republican state Rep. Robert Goforth removed for allegedly hogtieing his wife with an ethernet cord last year and threatening to kill her—allegations that have produced an indictment against Goforth and are currently pending in a Laurel County court. That petition is being considered by the new impeachment committee as well.
In the impeachment petition filed with the Kentucky House of Representatives about Cameron on Friday, the grand jurors wrote that Cameron’s actions rose to the level of official misconduct.
“Attorney General Cameron deceived the American people and the citizens of this Commonwealth with regard to his office’s handling and involvement in the Breonna Taylor investigation and the resulting legal actions,” the petition states.
Louisville Metro Police officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor in March 2020. Commonwealth’s attorney Tom Wine initially charged Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, with assault and attempted murder for firing on the officers when they busted the door open. He recused himself from the investigation, leading to Cameron’s office becoming special prosecutor, and later dropped charges against Walker.
Cameron’s office took their investigation before a grand jury.
The petition goes on to say that Cameron misled the public during hishour-long press conference on Sept. 23, when he announced the grand jury had produced a wanton endangerment indictment against former Louisville Police Detective Brett Hankison for firing his gun into neighboring apartments during the fatal raid on Taylor’s home.
The grand jurors allege that Cameron made “blatantly false” statements about what charges his office presented to the grand jury, including the attorney general’s claim that prosecutors “walked them through every homicide offense…and then the grand jury was ultimately the one that made the decision about indicting.”
Cameron’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Ben Crump, an attorney representing Taylor's family, called the petition "an extremely courageous and admirable action."
“They should be applauded for taking a valiant stand for justice and transparency within our institutions, along with reclaiming their voices that AG Cameron attempted to stifle during the grand jury proceedings," Crump said.
“Citizens being able to fully trust those holding public office has never been more important and we hope at the very least, this sends the message that no one has the right to take the law into their own hands and manipulate our processes for their own devious purposes."
In addition to the grand juror’s claims that Cameron misled the public with his account of what he presented to the grand jury, the petitioners say he should be removed for joining other Republican officials in challenging Pennsylvania’s election results.
Cameron joined a “friend of the court” brief with other Republican attorneys general arguing that absentee ballots received after polls closed on November 3 should not count in the election.
The grand jurors wrote that “no legitimate reason supports Cameron’s attack on the votes in a sister state.”
“This irresponsible action invites other states to challenge Kentucky’s voting, thereby endangering this Commonwealth’s most basic freedom,” they wrote.
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne says has received the petition, but did not provide further comment, including whether it would be heard by the impeachment committee.
"We received notice of another petition for impeachment but will reserve further comment until our attorneys review it and the committee on committees has an opportunity to act," Osborne said.
This story has been updated.
