Kentucky Hardball

Here in NKY the Louisville Courier-Journal is running a big story on Matt Conway, brother of Democratic Senate candidate Jack Conway, about Matt, a Jefferson County prosecutor, being tipped off by Louisville cops that he was under investigation for narcotics not once, but twice.

Ronald Russ and Scott Wilson, the two detectives accused of the leaks to Matthew Conway, have been placed in administrative jobs pending the outcome of an internal police inquiry into possible policy violations. Wilson told Conway of the first investigation, and Russ told him of the second one. The two investigations were prompted by separate allegations.


After a criminal investigation by police, the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office decided in August that no charges would be filed against Conway, Russ, Wilson or a third narcotics detective, Chauncey Carthan, who was not involved in the leaks but was overheard discussing the second investigation in a restaurant last March.


Carthan’s conversation was reported to Jack Conway, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, by a person supporting him. The brothers subsequently conferred with an attorney about the investigation of Matthew Conway, according to the investigative file.


The lawyer, Bart Adams of Louisville, then met with Police Chief Robert White to discuss Carthan’s conduct, according to the records.

Jack Conway’s office said in an e-mail to the newspaper Thursday that his only involvement was to advise his brother to obtain legal counsel.

White declined to discuss the case, citing the pending police inquiry.

 

Adams declined to comment in detail, saying: “After the election, I’ll talk to you about anything. I’ve represented Matt from the beginning. The allegations were baseless. I can’t believe police went as far as they did.”


Neither drug investigation resulted in any charges against Matthew Conway. The three officers all were involved in investigations of him when the leaks occurred.


Conway, 34, a graduate of Emory University and the University of Louisville law school, declined to be interviewed by The Courier-Journal.

It's all mildly back-scratchy, but again, Conway was never charged with anything.  There's no "there" there, as they say.  But for this to drop the week before Election Day in a close race is Kentucky politics, folks, pure and simple.

Conway goes after Rand Paul's college years, Rand Paul goes after Jack Conway's brother.  It's cheesy at best, but now we see why Rand Paul suddenly agreed to debate Conway Monday one last time after spending most of last week complaining that he was never going to talk to Conway again for impugning his faith like that.

This last week is going to be warfare, Bluegrass State style.