Embattled Kentucky Represewntative Jeff Hoover again last week flatly denied ever having a sexual relationship with a former Legislative Research Commission (LRC) employee.

Last week’s denial followed a claim and a whislteblower lawsuit filed by the LRC Communications Director Daisy Olivo, that she was being pushed out of her job in the days following a report originally published in Courier Journal newspaper.

That report announced that Hoover and three other Republican state representatives had settled a suit against them charging sexual harassment.

That settlement, which was reached under the agreement of confidentiality by all parties, was made public by Courier Journal in a November 2 published report.

The woman who brought the suit against Hoover and the others, was on his legislative staff.

In the most recent development regarding the whistleblower suit filed last week by Olivo, she claimed that after telling details of the alleged relationship to the general counsel and human resources director for the Legislative Research Commission, she had her duties as Communications Director taken away.

She also claimed in her suit that the money used to pay off the woman who had alleged she was a victim of sexual harassment came from “prominent campaign donors”.

That claim has been contradicted by Hoover as well as by investigators who were hired by House leadership.

In the report released by the firm hired by House leadership to investigate the matter, it noted that investigators could not find evidence of “an inappropriate physical sexual relationship” involving any of those involved in the confidential settlement.

In a statement from the law firm representing the alleged sexual harassment victim, both of those two claims made by Olivo were said to be false.

That email statement,which was forwarded to the Clinton County News, said in part:

We represent the former LRC employee who made a claim against four legislators and another employee. Those claims were resolved in an expeditious and fair manner to the satisfaction of all parties.

We have reviewed the complaint filed by Daisy Olivo against the LRC. In her complaint, Ms. Olivo states that former Speaker Hoover and our client engaged in sexual relations. Our client has confirmed this is absolutely not true.

Likewise, our client was not coerced into resolving the matter. Among numerous inaccurate matters alleged by Ms. Olivo, our client did not advise her that the matter was resolved with “private funds pooled by prominent campaign donors.”

Based upon the investigation and documents provided to the Middleton law firm we are confident that political donor money was not used by any of those named in settlement of this claim.

Hoover also, following the suit filed by Olivo, again stressed that while he did admit to sending inappropriate text messages, he never engaged in sexual contact of any kind with a member of his staff.

“I will no longer sit back and let untrue, false, defamatory statements by made against me and others, regardless of the position of the person making them.”

Hoover, an Albany native, has represented Clinton County since first being elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1997.

He currently lives in Jamestown and is a practicing attorney there. The 83rd House District, in addition to Clinton and Russell County, also includes Cumberland County and a portion of Pulaski County.

Hoover became the first Republican Speaker of the House this past January following fall elections that saw the party take the majority in the House of Representatives for the first time since 1921.

In the days following the report, Hoover, who was serving as the House of Representatives Majority Leader, resigned that position but refused to step down from the House, vowing to continue to serve his house district as a member.