Pay to play.
Via Courier Journal:
Veteran Kentucky Democratic strategist Jerry Lundergan was indicted Friday by federal prosecutors on charges he made illegal contributions to his daughter’s 2014 U.S. Senate race and tried to cover them up.
Federal court records show Lundergan and longtime political operative Dale Emmons were indicted by a federal grand jury for donations to Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ campaign.
Lundergan was indicted on 10 counts while Emmons was indicted on six counts, according to court records. The indictment shows the two made corporate contributions of more than $25,000 to Grimes in her bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Lundergan’s attorney Guthrie True, of Frankfort, said he was reviewing the indictment and would be releasing a statement later Friday.
The charges come at a critical time for Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is considered to be a top contender for either governor or attorney general in 2019. She was just weeks past a strong performance at the annual Fancy Farm political picnic.
But, she was accused this week by the executive director of the state board of elections of ignoring a federal court settlement to clean Kentucky’s voter rolls of people who hadn’t voted in the past six years. The board of elections met for several hours this week to consider the complaints and reaffirmed her role as the state’s chief election official.