Stumbo has 'no regrets' as he leaves office

History will remember Greg Stumbo's four-year tenure as state attorney general for the investigation and prosecution that brought down a governor.

Stumbo, who left office Friday as the state's chief law-enforcement official and longs to continue his political career by returning to the state House, says he hopes "history will remember us as being not afraid to enforce the law and that we took this job seriously."

The well-known Democratic politician from Floyd County said in a wide-ranging interview that he has "no regrets" how his office handled the state hiring investigation that led to the indictment of former Gov. Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher and others.

He also said he believes the outcome of the investigation and possibly last year's governor's race, which Fletcher lost to Democrat Steve Beshear, would have been different if Fletcher "had worked with us as he first said he would."

Three misdemeanor charges issued by a special grand jury against the governor were dismissed after Fletcher and Stumbo reached an agreement. Fletcher pardoned others who were indicted and maintained that the investigation was politically motivated.

When news broke about the investigation, Fletcher said he would seek "the unvarnished truth" and would address the situation if any wrongdoing were found.

"I would have wagered my house at that time that the situation would not have turned out as it did," Stumbo said Friday. "If he had worked with us, he still might be governor.

"What transformed him to take a defiant approach towards me and the investigation, I don't know. I'm convinced he was talked into it, but his initial position was the real Ernie Fletcher, in my opinion."

Stumbo said his office did not target Fletcher because he was Kentucky's first Republican governor since 1971.

He also said he cringes when he hears people say that Fletcher and his administration did nothing differently than previous administrations.

"In certain instances, isolated in previous administrations, the merit system may have been infringed upon," Stumbo said. "But if any governor tried to do what Ernie Fletcher and some of his people did, they would have gotten into the same problem."

Stumbo said he felt pressure within his own political party not to indict Fletcher. He said former Govs. John Y. Brown Jr. and Julian Carroll advised him not to seek an indictment against Fletcher.

"Personally, I didn't want to see the governor indicted," Stumbo said. "What we did was exactly what the system called for doing. We let the grand jury decide what to do.

"Greg Stumbo never indicted the governor. A grand jury did."

His office's files of the investigation may become public someday, he said. "We forwarded all that to the U.S. Attorney's office. We can't release those files until they sign off."

Stumbo could have sought another four-year term as attorney general but decided to run for lieutenant governor on a slate with Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford. They lost to Beshear and Daniel Mongiardo.

Stumbo said he did not regret running with Lunsford. But did say he would like to have stayed on as attorney general to handle the office's lawsuits involving gas-price gouging and illegal drugs.

He also said he hopes Democrat Jack Conway, who takes office as attorney general on Monday, retains the office's investigative unit, the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation.

"I'd put that group of 35 people up against any law-enforcement agency, state or federal," Stumbo said. "Some editorial writers don't like the name 'KBI,' but you can change the name. Just keep the agency."

Allison Martin, a spokeswoman for Conway, said Conway "plans to evaluate the KBI and see if it is one of the best ways to offer services to the people."

Stumbo hopes that he is chosen today by Democratic officials in the 95th House District in Floyd County to be the party nominee for a special election Feb. 5. A vacancy arose last month when Brandon Spencer resigned. Former state Democratic Rep. Chuck Meade also is seeking the nomination.

Stumbo said he did not want to address speculation that he may seek a House leadership position if he returns to the legislature. "That would be premature."