Oldham County judge disputes former deputy Joe Ender's public accusations after attorney general's review

At a news conference in LaGrange, Oldham County officials said a Kentucky attorney general review found no criminal activity connected to a May 22 business meeting about a proposed data center and challenged former deputy judge Joe Ender's public accusations.

The county judge (unnamed in the transcript) said Joe Ender told an investigator from the Kentucky Attorney General's Office one story during a recorded June 24 interview and a different account in a social-media video posted July 1. The judge summarized the investigator's report and said an assigned investigator, Mark Maroney, recorded that Ender told the investigator he was not aware of any kickbacks or anyone offering money to Oldham County officials and could not provide witnesses or examples to support allegations of bribery or personal gain.

In the video posted on Facebook, Ender said, "I didn't plan to become a whistleblower, but I couldn't stay silent. . . . Corruption, favoritism, bribery, misconduct, retaliation, and abuse of power. I documented it. I spoke up." Ender also said in the video, "I'm Joe Ender. I exposed corruption."

The judge read from a report supplied to the Attorney General's Office that Commonwealth Attorney Bill Sloan of Pike County wrote, "I have determined that there was no criminal activity." The judge said the public deserved to know why Ender's statements to the investigator and to residents differed and said false allegations harm reputations, economic opportunity and public trust.

The judge also said he terminated Ender on July 1 after Ender refused to answer a question about an audio recording made at the May 22 meeting, saying an employee who refuses to answer an employment-related question creates an immediate loss of confidence.

Asked about the status of Ender's civil claims, a speaker introduced in the transcript as Barry Baxter, the county attorney, said, "There was 3 counts in his original complaint. 2 of those counts have been dismissed. The only claim that remains is his claim that he's a whistleblower, and that's because there's been no discovery yet. The county is gonna vigorously defend that lawsuit."

County officials said Barry Baxter obtained the attorney general's complete investigative file through an open-records request and that a contact at the Attorney General's Office (named in the transcript as Holly Prane) can provide the complete file on request.

Officials framed the matter as one of credibility and said opposition to the data-center project led the developer to withdraw. The judge cited an estimate from the county chief financial officer that the project would have generated about $100,000,000 or more in tax revenue over 12 to 13 years.

The county said planning and regulatory steps for siting data centers will return to the planning commission for further review. The county's immediate procedural response is to provide the AG file publicly and to defend the remaining civil claim in court.