Ethics commission denies Grossberg’s latest effort to dismiss, sets hearing dates
The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission has denied a fourth attempt by embattled Kentucky state Rep. Daniel Grossberg to have an ethics investigation into his conduct dismissed and set dates for public hearings on the case.
Tuesday, the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission unanimously rejected the Louisville Democrat’s fourth attempt to have ethics charges against him dropped — three motions to dismiss in front of the commission and a lawsuit that was dismissed in Franklin Circuit Court.
The news wasn’t all bad for Grossberg, however. The commission granted his motion to block his medical records from being included in the evidence considered in the probe into his alleged misconduct.
The commission’s investigator, attorney Robert Jenkins, initially filed a motion to compel Grossberg and his attorney, Anna Whites, to release the medical records, citing inconsistency in Grossberg’s statements and reports filed that were not official medical records.
In addressing his behavior toward women, Grossberg and Whites have mentioned his neurodiversity, including ADHD, placement on the autism spectrum and Tourette syndrome.
After two delays, the commission also set dates for public hearings on the three counts of violating the state ethics code it found probable cause for in July. Those dates are during next year’s legislative session: Jan. 26 and Feb. 2, set for Monday mornings when the legislature gavels in mid-afternoon and does not often schedule committee meetings.
The evidentiary hearings could function like a jury trial, complete with testimony, discovery, and opening and closing arguments. From there, the commission will decide whether Grossberg violated the Kentucky Code of Ethics.
The commission also denied a motion “in limine” filed by Jenkins that would’ve set parameters for evidence and witnesses Grossberg and Whites can call on to provide testimony at a future evidentiary hearing. Jenkins also sought to exclude claims of discrimination against Grossberg and allegedly biased media coverage.
In discussing the denial, Mike Shull, the commission’s vice chair, added the caveat the commission would “focus on the conduct and the allegations specifically, and likely rule to keep it streamlined and not delve into several side issues that are not relevant.”
The commission denied another motion “in limine” by Grossberg that would have redacted whole pages of depositions taken by former state representatives Cherlynn Stevenson and Rachel Roberts, both members of leadership when Grossberg was removed from the House Democratic caucus after reporting from the Herald-Leader. Grossberg sought to redact pages that “reference, name or defame any other state legislator or former state legislator.”
Some of Grossberg’s actions being investigated by the commission were first publicized in 2024 in the Herald-Leader, which detailed in a series of stories a pattern of inappropriate interactions with women and his lifetime ban from a Louisville strip club for trying to touch a dancer on stage.
The three counts he faces in front of the commission include intimidation of the Louisville strip club that banned him for life; attempts to solicit a donation from a Subway restaurant owner in exchange for a benefit; and his 2023 conduct toward Emma Curtis, now a Lexington city councilwoman, who says the behavior was sexual harassment.
Grossberg has denied any impropriety.
