A Franklin Circuit Court decision reversed alleged ethics violation charges made against Alison Lundergan Grimes this week.
Judge Phillip Shepherd handed down the decision reversing the charge, which would have required Grimes to pay a $10,000 fine.
Grimes’ attorney Guthrie True said the decision was a “complete vindication” of his client and her former work as secretary of state.
“This has been a long and needless investigation, and I think the ruling of the court made very clear that there was no basis for an allegation of an ethics charge,” True said.
The state Executive Branch Ethics Commission accused Grimes of improperly downloading voter information onto a thumb drive during her 2015 re-election campaign.
She was also accused of sharing new voter registration data to help other Democratic candidates.
The court’s ruling did not dispute that the actions took place, but says the data shared was already in the public domain. The ruling also says the Commission failed to make clear what it would have been used for.
Ethics Commission Executive Director Susan Clary said the agency is reviewing the order and will make a decision on whether to appeal.
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