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What to know about the Jerry Lundergan and Dale Emmons convictions

Joe Sonka
Courier Journal

A federal jury convicted Jerry Lundergan and Dale Emmons on Thursday of conspiring to funnel and conceal illegal corporate contributions from Lundergan's company to the 2014 U.S. Senate campaign of his daughter, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Here's a look at the next steps for the two and the possible political ramifications of the convictions in Kentucky.

What's next for Lundergan and Emmons?

The two longtime players in Kentucky Democratic politics remain free until their sentencing hearing on Jan. 22. 

If Lundergan is given the maximum sentence for each of the 10 counts for which he was convicted, and is ordered to serve them consecutively, it would amount to a 110-year sentence. If Emmons is also given the maximum for his six counts, it would add up to a 60-year sentence.

However, Lundergan's attorney Guthrie True told reporters after the verdict that he would "definitely" appeal the conviction. That appeal would specifically focus on the decision of the judge to allow additional evidence relating to similar alleged crimes committed by Lundergan in the 2011 and 2015 races of Grimes for secretary of state, which he said was prejudicial.

The evidence from the 2015 race — which was not part of the federal indictment, as it was a state election — involved explosive testimony from Grimes' campaign manager Jonathan Hurst involving a bag with $20,000 in cash and a $25,000 check that he testified Lundergan left on his couch after asking for more campaign mailers to be sent. The jury was shown a photo of the pile of cash, with bills bundled in $2,000 currency bands.

While appeals for federal convictions are generally viewed as long shots, True expressed confidence after the verdict that the judge's decision to allow this evidence would give his client a strong chance at having the conviction overturned.

Background:Jury finds Lundergan, Emmons guilty of campaign finance crimes

Could both be charged with additional state crimes?

This doesn't appear to be out of the question. The Kentucky Office of the Attorney General suggested Thursday that because there's a final verdict in the federal case, it will now look at the possibility of state statutes being violated in those secretary of state races.

"Given today's verdict, the Office of the Attorney General is in the process of appointing a commonwealth's attorney that will have the jurisdiction to independently evaluate evidence from the federal trial and take any steps that are warranted under state law,” stated Deputy Attorney General J. Michael Brown.

The state's attorney general, of course, is Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee in the race for governor.

Adding another layer of complexity is the fact that the Beshear and Lundergan families have waged a fierce political rivalry over four decades, dating all the way back to Democratic primary races in the 1970s for the state House of Representatives between Lundergan and Steve Beshear, the attorney general's father who went on to serve two terms as governor.

Earlier:Witness says Jerry Lundergan left him a bag with $20K in cash 

What does this mean for Grimes' political future?

Political observers have speculated for some time about what Grimes will do after she ends her second term as secretary of state in December.

She considered and decided against running for governor this year, announcing in January that she wanted to focus on her baby, born a month earlier.

The previous year also brought a setback to such ambitions when her father received the federal indictment that summer.

Despite Lundergan's indictment and an investigative series by the Lexington Herald Leader in early 2019 questioning actions and contracts of her office, rumors have swirled about Grimes running for Congress or another smaller office in the district where she lives in Lexington, building on strong political support that remains for her there.

The conviction of her father and the potential for an additional state investigation into her 2011 and 2015 campaigns now present a serious challenge to such a run.

What now for Jonathan Hurst?

The prosecution's key witness has continued working in Democratic politics even after the indictment of Lundergan and Emmons last summer, as he worked on the House races of several prominent Democrats in 2018.

Hurst was given immunity from prosecution in the federal case in return for his testimony against Lundergan and Emmons. He was a target of the investigation when FBI investigators searched his home and email in early 2016 — when they found the bag of cash —originally pleading the Fifth Amendment to a grand jury before agreeing to testify against the two in the summer of 2017.

Defense attorneys for Lundergan and Emmons attempted to characterize Hurst as a backstabbing liar in the trial to discredit his testimony, which ultimately turned out to be unsuccessful. Hurst's attorney said after the trial that this client had been "unfairly maligned" by those attorneys and that Hurst did nothing wrong and told authorities and the jury the truth.

According to a recent report in the Herald Leader, House Democrats had still considered hiring Hurst to lead the 2020 campaign efforts of their caucus as late as April, when he met with Democratic leaders.

While Hurst received immunity from prosecution in the federal case, there is a question of whether this would extend to any potential indictment for state crimes committed in the 2011 and 2015 races that Hurst worked on. However, his attorney Scott Cox is confident that state prosecutors cannot and will not take that path with his client.

“We’re not concerned about a state investigation because Jonathon didn’t do anything wrong," Cox said. "In addition, any evidence about Jonathan would flow directly from immunized testimony and would be unusable against him.”

Background:Defense lawyers try to paint Hurst as the bad guy in case

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.