SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is denouncing as “horrific” a newly disclosed 2012 email in which a powerful lobbyist cryptically suggests knowledge of cover-ups involving a rape and shady hiring practices.

The Democratic governor said he referred the email, written by Michael McClain, a confidante of House Speaker Michael Madigan, to independent investigators.

Madigan on Thursday endorsed that approach, rejecting Republicans’ call for a House committee probe. In the email, uncovered by WBEZ radio, McClain sought leniency for an employee facing discipline, noting that he “kept his mouth shut on … ghost workers (and) the rape in Champaign.”