The FBI is reportedly looking into pardons made by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin during his last weeks in office.
State Rep. Chris Harris told reporters that a criminal investigator had contacted him about Bevin's pardons last week, adding, "the impression I got is that there was an investigation ramping up." Two sources familiar with the matter told The Louisville Courier-Journal on Monday that an FBI agent had reached out to Harris.
Bevin has come under fire for having issued hundreds of pardons and commutations since losing his re-election bid last month. Among those pardoned was a man convicted of homicide and other crimes whose brother ran a political fundraiser for Bevin in 2018, according to the Courier Journal.
The former governor defended his actions in a series of tweets earlier this month, saying he personally reviewed "every application and file of those who received a pardon" and that "not one person receiving a pardon would [he] not welcome as a co-worker, neighbor, or to sit beside [him] or any member of [his] family in a church pew or at a public event." Bevin also said the pardons had nothing to do with any political favoritism, and has reportedly welcomed an investigation into the matter.
