Kentucky's attorney general says that for now, he will not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the claim that Rowan County clerk Kim Davis committed a crime when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
One couple who was denied a license asked Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins to investigate a charge of official misconduct, a misdemeanor in Kentucky applicable to public officials who neglect their duties. Watkins, citing a conflict of interest, passed the complaint along to the attorney general, who could then choose whether to appoint a special prosecutor.
But Attorney General Jack Conway released a one-sentence statement on Wednesday, noting that Davis' actions are being monitored by U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning, who sent Davis to jail for five days for defying court orders to issue the licenses.
Conway's statement reads: "Judge Bunning and the federal court have control of this matter, and therefore a special state prosecutor is not necessary at this time."
