What? A coal lobbyist lobbying the governor & staff without being registered as a lobbyist?

Here’s the latest from John Cheves, who single-handedly works to root out corruption in Frankfort:

An Alliance Coal executive connected to a state firing controversy has called, written and met with political appointees of Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration on coal-related issues for at least the past year without registering as a lobbyist.

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Ashcraft — who is manager of environmental affairs and permitting at Alliance Coal’s Lexington office — also used his state contacts to monitor the progress of his company’s mine permits, with aides to the governor sometimes checking on his behalf.

However, Ashcraft is not registered with the Executive Branch Ethics Commission to lobby the Beshear administration. He is registered to lobby the General Assembly with the Legislative Branch Ethics Commission.

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Of at least a dozen e-mails from Ashcraft to state officials since Jan. 1, some discussed what he considered the best use of state resources.

For example, in an Aug. 5 e-mail to the Energy and Environment Cabinet, Ashcraft said he would meet at the Capitol with aides to the governor to discuss the backlog of mine permit applications and how it might be addressed given the slow pace of hiring caused by state budget cuts. Federal matching funds from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining would be one possibility discussed, Ashcraft wrote.

And here’s the non-denial denial from Kerri Richardson, who probably feels like she’s sold her soul:

Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said there is nothing improper about state officials listening to the coal industry’s concerns over permit delays, federal policies or other issues.

“However, it is important that individuals who speak on behalf of a broader group be formally registered as lobbyists in the executive branch, and we strongly encourage those individuals to take that action,” Richardson said.

Click here to read the rest. And then make your predictions for how long you think Beshear will try to spin this out. Will he say it’s just another attack on Kentucky coal?