Sources: KY representative under investigation for inappropriate interactions with women
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Investigation into Louisville Rep. Daniel Grossberg
A Herald-Leader investigation into allegations of sexual harassment involving Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, revealed he intimidated and harassed multiple women in and around Kentucky politics. He also was allegedly aggressive and threatening toward dancers in a Louisville strip club.
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Rep. Daniel Grossberg is under investigation by the state’s Legislative Research Commission for inappropriate interactions with women, the Herald-Leader confirmed Tuesday evening.
Four sources have independently shared their stories and details of the state’s investigation with the Herald-Leader.
Three of the sources are women who said they have been contacted within the past two weeks by Legislative Research Commission staffers, including lawyers. On Wednesday, House Democratic leaders called for an official ethics investigation into Grossberg’s conduct.
As part of the Legislative Research Commission investigation, the three woman have been asked about specific actions, questionable behavior and text messages sent by Grossberg, a first-term Democrat from Louisville.
The women shared text messages with the Herald-Leader from Grossberg they described as “weird” or “creepy.” They often came late at night, and Grossberg remarked on their physical looks.
He complimented one for her “exotic” appearance, and described how “beautiful” another one was.
On Tuesday evening, Grossberg denied any wrongdoing.
“I never, in my work, approached or crossed a line in my professional communications. Any claim that private texts on my personal cell phone are work related have no merit. I steadfastly deny any impropriety,” Grossberg said in a statement released by his Frankfort lawyer, Anna Whites.
All of the text messages were reviewed in their entirety by the Herald-Leader to ensure their authenticity.
Grossberg, 45, is married.
A fourth source in Frankfort, with direct knowledge of the allegations and investigation, also confirmed the Legislative Research Commission is looking into Grossberg’s conduct.
The Herald-Leader is not identifying the sources because of the nature of the allegations and the sexually charged text messages the newspaper has reviewed with the three women.
The three contacted by state investigators work for nonprofit advocacy organizations or lobbying firms and are not state employees. However, they interact routinely with legislators, including Grossberg, in Frankfort and are afraid of potential personal and professional retribution, they said.
Less than 90 minutes after the first version of this story posted on kentucky.com, a spokesperson for House Democrats released a statement saying they’ve asked Grossberg to step away from the caucus during the investigation.
“We take these claims seriously, are deeply troubled by them, and have asked Rep. Grossberg to step away from the caucus as this moves forward. With due process in mind, we are discussing next steps,” the statement reads.
The three leaders of the House Democrats include Minority Floor Leader Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort; Caucus Chair Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington; and Whip Rachel Roberts, D-Newport.
After voting to “temporarily suspend” Grossberg from the caucus, Graham, Stevenson and Roberts on Wednesday officially requested the Legislative Ethics Commission investigate the allegations, saying, “We believe this is the appropriate organization to review the issues that have been raised. Given the sensitive nature of these allegations, we have no further comment at this time.”
On Tuesday night, Whites defended Grossberg.
“I would be surprised if there was any intentional inappropriate misconduct. He’s really, I think, a good guy,” she said. “He’s a principled man. He has a happy marriage.”
The Legislative Research Commission, known routinely in statehouse circles as LRC, serves as the state legislature’s administrative arm and oversees hundreds of legislative branch employees. It is empowered to respond to whistle-blower allegations and matters of professional and personal conduct.
The extent of the agency’s investigation is unclear. A spokesperson for the commission neither confirmed nor denied that Grossberg was under investigation.
“Your question is not something we would typically comment on,” the spokesperson wrote in a Tuesday email to the Herald-Leader.
Whites said Grossberg met with state officials on Tuesday. She characterized the meeting as informal and not an official investigation. She said their message to Grossberg was to “be a little kinder and more respectful” in his communication with staff.
The state agency is tasked with reviewing and investigating complaints of harassment and grievances coming from its own staff, according to a copy of the organization’s personnel policy.
All LRC employees, including legislators, are required to undergo “periodic anti-harassment training,” according to the agency’s personnel policy.
In a Wednesday morning statement, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge called the allegations against Grossberg “unsettling.”
“The series of allegations made against Representative Daniel Grossberg are unsettling. KDP has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and any form of sexual misconduct. Every individual should be held accountable for their own actions — particularly those who represent Kentuckians in the halls of our Capitol,” Elridge said.
The Herald-Leader in mid-June filed a Kentucky Open Records Act request seeking any complaints or advisory opinions from the state’s Legislative Ethics Commission regarding any sitting lawmaker.
The ethics commission denied the request, citing statute that “advisory opinions and requests for them are confidential.”
Grossberg was elected to the state’s 30th District in 2022 when he knocked off longtime incumbent Rep. Tom Burch.
In May, he narrowly won a primary battle against a fellow Democrat, but does not face a Republican opponent in November’s general election.
This is not the first time Grossberg has been scrutinized formally since being elected.
Multiple lawmakers confirmed to the Herald-Leader he was barred from caucus meetings by fellow Democrats and party leaders for a brief period during this spring’s legislative session before being allowed to return.
A spokesperson for the House Democratic caucus has not responded to requests for comment on why they took the unusual step of barring him from caucus meetings. However, Stevenson provided her response to the Herald-Leader late Tuesday.
Stevenson said that Grossberg was asked to sit out caucus meetings while the Legislative Ethics Commission looked into an ethical question regarding his purchase of a vehicle.
“While ethics investigated, we asked him to sit out of caucus,” Stevenson said.
“He was given an informal ethics opinion, which led us to let him back in. The documents that he provided led ethics to say they couldn’t determine either way”
Initially, Whites claimed Grossberg was barred because of his push for a resolution condemning the support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations at Kentucky colleges and universities. However, Whites clarified late Tuesday night and said that she conflated leadership’s alleged displeasure over the resolution and the contemporaneous ethics question.
“It was not related to communications or behaviors or anything interpersonal,” she said, emphasizing that Grossberg was never suspended and that he “voluntarily sat out of caucus for a couple of weeks” while the matter was investigated.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published July 30, 2024 at 8:40 PM.
