Washington, DC — The Daily Beast revealed, “A U.S. attorney overseeing a federal probe into the commonwealth of Kentucky has made thousands of dollars in political contributions to two Republican candidates who, if elected, would be directly involved with that investigation—the GOP nominee for attorney general [Russell Coleman], and sitting AG and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron.”

“The donations raise questions of potential impropriety, government ethics experts said, because they lend the appearance of a senior Justice Department official attempting to exert political influence over his district.”

Statement from Emily Trifone, Deputy Communications Director, DAGA:

“Russell Coleman and Daniel Cameron are a pair of Kentucky politicians who voters just can’t trust. Coleman’s new scandal adds more fuel to the fire after Daniel Cameron’s ever-changing story about why he asked for donations from a company he was investigating. Kentuckians can’t trust either of them.”

The Daily Beast story continues, “The donor—Michael Bennett, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky—contributed $1,000 to Cameron on May 7, nine days ahead of the primary election, according to Kentucky campaign finance records. That same day, Bennett gave $500 to the Republican running to fill Cameron’s slot, Russell Coleman, on top of a previous $1,000 donation in September.”

“Coleman was Bennett’s predecessor and former boss at the top of the Western District, where he was appointed by former President Donald Trump.”

“Both of Bennett’s contributions went to support Republicans who, if elected, would be directly responsive to the probe. Legal experts told The Daily Beast that the donations lend the appearance of ‘political interference’ and ‘publicly picking sides.’ (This month, Cameron joined Trump allies across the country when he attacked the political ‘weaponization’ of the DOJ after the former president’s federal indictment in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.)”

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