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Author of the article:
The associated press
Bruce Schreiner
Published June 26, 2023 • read for 3 minutes
FILE – Kentucky Attorney General and Republican nominee for governor Daniel Cameron addresses supporters during the first stop of his multi-city campaign tour in Richmond, Ky., on June 2, 2023. Cameron directly asked for donations for his governmental campaign by executives with a Kentucky drug treatment organization that began investigating its office last year, according to an attorney for the organization. The request for contributions came during a call Cameron made to a representative from Edgewater Recovery Centers early this year, Edgewater attorney Michael Denbow told The Associated Press. The donations have since been refunded by the campaign. Photo by Timothy D. Easley /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron solicited donations for his gubernatorial campaign directly from executives of a Kentucky drug treatment organization that began investigating his office last year, according to an attorney for the organization.
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The request for contributions came during a call Cameron made to a representative from Edgewater Recovery Centers early this year, Edgewater attorney Michael Denbow told The Associated Press. A Cameron campaign official called the same rep and there was an exchange about a potential fundraiser that ultimately never happened, he said. Denbow declined to identify the Edgewater representative who received the calls.
Several Edgewater executives later donated thousands of dollars to Cameron’s campaign during the campaign for the spring primary. The donations have since been refunded by the campaign. But the timing of the requests, coming as Edgewater was under investigation, raises questions about their decency.
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“They were asked directly by Daniel to give money to his campaign,” Denbow, on behalf of the company, told the AP in a phone interview Friday. “And I think Edgewater thought it was probably very prudent to make sure they maintain their ability to partner with everyone who was successful in November … to help advance Edgewater’s goals.”
Edgewater posed questions to Denbow about the matter.
In response, Cameron told the AP in a statement issued Sunday that his “approach” to Edgewater-related campaign donations was to “revise, reuse and pay back.”
Cameron withdrew from the Edgewater investigation in May immediately after learning of the contributions, his office said. The donations were first reported by The Daily Beast. Cameron’s office did not comment on the status of the case. Edgewater denies any allegation in this matter.
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Cameron’s campaign acknowledged that it had discussed a potential fundraiser with individuals representing Edgewater.
“There were preliminary talks about hosting an event,” Cameron said in the statement. “When we were made aware of a conflict, the event was cancelled. When they later made online contributions, I withdrew and refunded the contributions.”
Cameron will challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in November in one of the nation’s most-watched elections this year. The matchup in Republican-trendy Kentucky could be a preview of voter sentiment ahead of the 2024 campaigns for president and congressional control.
Campaign fundraising allegations have come to the forefront of Kentucky’s bare-knuckle contest.
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Last week, Cameron’s office asked the FBI to investigate an infusion of campaign donations — tied to a single credit card — that flowed to the Kentucky Democratic Party and Beshear’s campaign. The governor’s campaign and the state party came to repay more than $200,000 in donations that they determined exceeded legal limits.
Cameron plunged into the Democratic-related issue to sharply criticize the governor. In his statement Sunday, Cameron accused Beshear of taking “illegal campaign contributions” and stated that political candidates have “transparency and accountability to the people they represent.”
But Cameron’s campaign is also on the defensive over campaign finances.
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Edgewater has been under investigation since 2022 by the Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse in the Attorney General’s Office. A case number indicates the investigation started last year, Denbow said. Edgewater received a subpoena for information as part of the investigation in early March, he said.
Cameron’s call to Edgewater’s representative took place before the subpoena was served, Denbow said. In that conversation and in the follow-up conversation by a Cameron campaign representative, there were “no promises or threats,” he said. “They reached out to raise campaign funds.”
“The investigation was ongoing, but I certainly don’t think Daniel said or acknowledged anything about that in his communications,” Denbow added.
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“No quid pro quo” was intended when Edgewater executives donated to Cameron’s campaign, the attorney said. And it was Cameron’s campaign that decided to refund the donations this month, he said.
“I understand it was done after Daniel withdrew from the investigation and when they made that decision,” Denbow said. “We’re not aware of the basis for it.”
Edgewater Recovery Centers offer alcohol and substance abuse treatments for men and women, according to the website. Edgewater is a state-recognized behavioral health organization that provides “multiple levels of care,” with facilities in a handful of Kentucky communities, the website said.
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