On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Kentucky unanimously ruled that GOP Gov. Matt Bevin has the right to block state Attorney General Andy Beshear — who is running against him in November's election — from hiring outside counsel in his investigation of opioid manufacturers.
The decision throws out the contract Beshear had signed with the law firm Morgan & Morgan, and throws a monkey wrench into his efforts to hold drugmakers accountable for the ongoing deaths and addictions in the state.
Bevin, who had sought to block the agreement on the basis that the lawyers Beshear hired to assist him had donated to his campaign, took to Twitter to gloat about having delayed justice for opioid victims:
@kyoag With today's ruling, Andy Beshear can no longer engage in this type of soft corruption and will be subject t… https://t.co/YjVvFcYdeO— Governor Matt Bevin (2015-2019) (@Governor Matt Bevin (2015-2019))1567094544.0
Unsurprisingly, Bevin faced an explosion of fury on social media:
@GovMattBevin @kyoag It surprises nobody that you’re on the side of big pharma. Kentuckians across this state are l… https://t.co/R9tQqSkokJ— Sleepy Raylan Givens (@Sleepy Raylan Givens)1567105477.0
@GovMattBevin @kyoag Hey, Guv, how much did it cost opioid makers to buy you so the state would stop pursuing them?— Andrew Wallingford (@Andrew Wallingford)1567100522.0
And shortly, Beshear himself responded:
Governor, you just handed big pharma a huge win. These companies force families to choose between buying food or me… https://t.co/Xwtai7Lfp7— Andy Beshear (@Andy Beshear)1567097609.0
