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Report: FBI looking into pardons by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin

Posted at 8:00 AM, Dec 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-26 11:00:47-05

The FBI is reportedly looking into pardons made by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin during his last weeks in office.

State Rep. Chris Harris told reporters that a criminal investigator had contacted him about Bevin's pardons last week, adding, "the impression I got is that there was an investigation ramping up." Two sources familiar with the matter told The Louisville Courier-Journal on Monday that an FBI agent had reached out to Harris.

Bevin has come under fire for having issued hundreds of pardons and commutations since losing his re-election bid last month. Among those pardoned was a man convicted of homicide and other crimes whose brother ran a political fundraiser for Bevin in 2018, according to the Courier Journal .

The former governor defended his actions in a series of tweets earlier this month, saying he personally reviewed "every application and file of those who received a pardon" and that "not one person receiving a pardon would (he) not welcome as a co-worker, neighbor, or to sit beside (him) or any member of (his) family in a church pew or at a public event." Bevin also said the pardons had nothing to do with any political favoritism, and has reportedly welcomed an investigation into the matter.