Thrasher email defends motives; seeks special prosecutor in case against Watts
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017 — In an Tuesday night email to County Attorney Matthew Hite, fiscal court and local media, Salt River Road resident Don Thrasher asked Hite for his help to clarify media stories published about Thrasher’s Dec. 2nd settlement offer proposed regarding his lawsuit against Nelson County Judge Executive Dean Watts.
COUNTY ATTORNEY MATTHEW HITE
The Nelson County Gazette and Kentucky Standard obtained copies of email correspondence between Thrasher and Watts through individual Open Records requests and both published stories about the settlement offer that was included in response to the records requests.
Thrasher tells Hite said he was “deeply deeply saddened” at the disclosure of the settlement offer, and notifies Hite “in the interest of full disclosure every email I send to you will now be forwarded to a member of the media and the magistrates.”
Thrasher noted that the positions he mentions in his settlement offer were “for altruistic purposes that I believed would benefit the citizens of Nelson County in some way.”
As noted in the Gazette’s story, Thrasher did not seek a salary for any of the proposed positions, which included an appointment as District 4 constable; appointment as magistrate research adviser; or appointment as deputy county judge executive.
“… but whoever spoke to the Kentucky Standard didn’t mention that.”
“I am in shock that whoever did this obviously wanted to imply that my motives were untoward or improper,” Thrasher continued. His email asked Hite to make a statement to the local newspaper to “clarify that my intent in the offer was altruistic and either volunteer or non-paid positions.”
REQUEST FOR RECUSAL. Wednesday, Thrasher filed a request for Hite to recuse himself as county prosecutor in the investigation and prosecution of Watts in regard to Thrasher’s claim that Watts committed second-degree official misconduct by failing to appoint a county surveyor and 4th District constable.
The email asks Hite to recuse himself and request the Kentucky Attorney General’s office to appoint a special prosecutor.
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