Louisville Democratic Rep. Daniel Grossberg was removed from all of his interim committee assignments Tuesday amid allegations of misconduct toward women.
Grossberg’s lawyer said the initial Legislative Research Commission (LRC) investigation has been closed with no findings of impropriety. LRC spokesperson Mike Wynn said they do not comment on possible investigations, and they are “reviewing information on this matter as it becomes available.”
Democratic leadership in the Kentucky General Assembly said in a statement that Grossberg was removed because of new, unspecified information.
“In light of new information Leadership received from LRC officials it was deemed appropriate to relieve Rep. Grossberg of his committee responsibilities during the interim,” Democratic leadership said. “Many committees do not cast votes during the interim and Rep. Grossberg’s constituents will not be impacted by this decision.”
The minority leaders declined to specify who “LRC officials” are, but Wynn said they are communicating with legislative leaders.
The Lexington Herald Leader reported earlier this month that Grossberg was under an LRC investigation for inappropriate behavior toward women. Grossberg’s lawyer Anna Whites told Kentucky Public Radio that the Legislative Research Commission investigation into the representative has already concluded.
Whites said she and her client have been in touch with the LRC this week and have been informed of no new information.
“Rep. Grossberg’s communication with LRC staff yesterday indicated that they were not involved in any of these decisions,” Whites said.
After the LRC investigation was launched, the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus temporarily suspended Grossberg and requested the Legislative Ethics Commission to separately investigate the allegations. The commission declined to clarify if that investigation is underway citing confidentiality.
“They discussed the results with Representative Grossberg and LRC has indicated they’re happy with him being on his committees and did not take this action,” Whites said.
She blamed the decision to remove him on “internal power struggles” within the Democratic caucus.
Wynn with the LRC said that their staff members “do not hold opinions on any actions that may involve legislators, and any claims to the contrary are inaccurate.”
Grossberg allegedly commented over text messages on a woman’s “exotic” appearance and called another “beautiful,” the Herald-Leader reported and Whites confirmed. Whites said she reviewed all of Grossberg’s texts and saw the ones in question. She said she believes none of them rose to the level of sexual harassment.
“It’s all gossip and innuendo,” Whites said. “I see nothing inappropriate in them, and I am a grouchy old lady who strongly advocates for women’s rights.”
Whites also noted Grossberg’s neurodivergence, placing him on the autism spectrum, which she said may have played into the accusations.
“The words used most often are ‘weird’ or ‘creepy’, which are pejorative words that peers and coworkers often use to talk about someone on the autism spectrum or someone with other neurodiversities,” Whites said. “Obviously, he has apologized and will continue to apologize to anyone he made feel uncomfortable. It was purely unintentional, but I have seen no sexual harassment whatsoever.”
Whites said stripping Grossberg of his committee assignments hurts his ability to represent his constituents.
“He’s a passionate advocate for his constituents. It’s very important to him to be able to bring their voice to his committees and to the House floor,” Whites said. “It’s shocking to me that that’s being impinged on. I don’t understand how anyone could deny that huge swath of people a voice.”
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Sylvia Goodman is Kentucky Public Radio's Capitol reporter. Email her at sgoodman@lpm.org.
