House GOP leaders ‘did not consult’ Hoover on investigation. Read their statement.
Leaders in the House Republican caucus announced in a statement on Saturday that they are launching an independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations swirling around House Speaker Jeff Hoover and other Republicans in the House.
In a statement released Saturday, House Republicans leaders said, “We have consulted legal counsel and believe that Speaker Pro Tempore Osborne has the authority, under the Rules of the House, to launch an independent investigation. We did not consult Speaker Jeff Hoover when making this decision, but we have since informed him about what we intend to do.”
The statement added that Hoover, “as of now, has the support of the Republican caucus to remain in his leadership position. However, that support does not supersede the need for a full, independent investigation.”
Here is the full statement:
Statement of Kentucky House Speaker Pro Tempore David Osborne, House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell, Majority Whip Kevin Bratcher, and Majority Caucus Chairman David Meade
Because of the allegations and rumors swirling in the media and in the capitol, the majority leadership team of the Kentucky House of Representatives is taking steps to launch an independent investigation so that Members of the House and the general public may know the facts.
Because the rumors involve the Speaker of the House, other State Representatives, and members of the House staff, the leadership team concluded that we must find the truth immediately to assure the public that the new Republican majority takes this matter seriously. We are not going to operate on rumor and innuendo; we are going to make decisions based on facts.
We have consulted legal counsel and believe that Speaker Pro Tempore Osborne has the authority, under the Rules of the House, to launch an independent investigation. We did not consult Speaker Jeff Hoover when making this decision, but we have since informed him about what we intend to do.
We are working through the procedural details and will report to the entire House, the media, and the public early this week when an investigatory procedure is finalized. Our intention is to hire an outside law firm to conduct this independent inquiry, but the final procedure is yet to be determined. We also intend to consult with the Legislative Research Commission to better understand the procedures necessary to give the investigators subpoena power.
As Majority Leader Shell stated Friday, Speaker Hoover, as of now, has the support of the Republican caucus to remain in his leadership position. However, that support does not supersede the need for a full, independent investigation. And we reserve the right, based on the results of the investigation, to revisit the status of anyone involved, including Speaker Hoover.
Our message to the people of Kentucky is that we take allegations of inappropriate conduct seriously. We must generate an independent report on the facts and make decisions regarding leadership and staffing based on those facts. When we make policy as the House majority, we do so in a deliberative, fact-based manner. That attitude will guide our conduct in this investigation. There will be no knee-jerk reactions, just as there will be no ignoring of the serious nature of the allegations and rumors.
We intend for this investigation to yield not only the facts of this situation, but also to guide us as we ensure the Kentucky House has the proper policies and procedures to deal with matters such as these.
This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "House GOP leaders ‘did not consult’ Hoover on investigation. Read their statement.."