Nearly five years after House Bill 6 became law and six months after former House Speaker Larry Householder was sent to prison, Ohio Democrats plan to introduce legislation again to stop corruption at the Statehouse.
State Reps. Daniel Troy (pictured above), D-Willowick, and Rachel Baker, D-Cincinnati, plan a news conference Tuesday to announce the Ohio Anti-Corruption Act requiring dark money groups to identify contributors and disclose spending.
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Following the sentencing of former Ohio Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder on Thursday, Ohio lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives voiced their opinions.
A federal judge sentenced Householder this week to the maximum of 20 years in federal prison for his participation in the largest bribery scandal in state history.
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A federal judge sentenced former Ohio Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder today to the maximum 20 years in federal prison Thursday for his involvement in the largest bribery scandal in state history.
Prosecutors asked federal judge Timothy Black to sentence him to 16-20 years. The 64-year-old Householder asked for less than two years. Householder was remanded to the custody of U.S. marshals following Thursday’s hearing.
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After more than two years, Attorney General Dave Yost’s civil lawsuit against FirstEnergy, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, and others connected to the House Bill (HB) 6 scandal is once more being permitted to move forward.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Brown has granted Yost’s motion to lift the stay on proceedings in the case.
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A federal jury found former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and former state Republican Party leader Matt Borges guilty of racketeering conspiracy in what federal prosecutors have called the largest public corruption case in state history.
The two each face up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced in the coming months. Appeals could also be filed.
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by Robert Girard FBI Agent Blane Wetzel testified in court again Monday providing further evidence in the ongoing racketeering trial against Larry Householder, former Ohio House Speaker, and Matt Borges, a lobbyist and former Ohio GOP chair. Both Householder and Borges have pleaded not guilty to charges in what prosecutors describe as a $61 million bribery scheme that – per U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers – is “likely the largest bribery–money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of Ohio.” The accused, per a criminal complaint built off more than 250 subpoenas of bank, phone and text records, funneled millions from FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) and others to help influence the passing of, and afterward hinder the repeal of, Ohio House Bill 6 (HB6) – a contentious Ohio House Bill which included a $1.3 billion nuclear bailout passed by Ohio lawmakers in July, 2019. Under House Bill 6, a new monthly surcharge was added to bills of all Ohio electricity customers (from less than $1 for residential customers to $2000+ for large plants) from 2021 until 2027. Of the $170 million collected each year from the new surcharge, most all ($150 million) was to go to Akron-based FirstEnergy Solutions – a subsidiary of FirstEnergy…
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COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Ohio Republican Party has named Alex Triantafilou, longtime leader of the Hamilton County Republican Party, as its next chairman.
Following a vote Friday by the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee Triantafilou will replace Bob Paduchik who has led the state party since February 2021.
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On Wednesday, the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) released new records pertaining to the FirstEnergy scandal, indicating that Governor Mike DeWine (R) frequently spoke with a “risk communications team” as well as attorneys including Ohio Attorney General David Yost (R) concerning the issue.
Jeff Crossman and Taylor Sappington, respectively Democratic candidates for Ohio attorney general and Ohio Auditor, are also publicizing these documents via their campaign websites to underscore what their party suggests is increasing evidence of culpability on DeWine’s part. (Crossman will face Yost in this November’s election; Sappington is running against incumbent Auditor Keith Faber.)
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Text messages between FirstEnergy Corp. executives indicate Ohio Lieutenant Governor John Husted (R) had discussions with company officials related to the scandal-plagued House Bill 6, according to a motion filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
In July 2019, Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed that measure into law, bailing out the FirstEnergy-operated Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear power plants to $1.3 billion. Federal attorneys have since accused numerous political bigwigs, including former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, of partaking in a $61 million bribery scheme to enact the bill. The company has itself been smacked with a $230 million fine for its part in the scandal.
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Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters last week filed a preliminary injunction seeking assurance that Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will preserve all records pertaining to House Bill 6 as an ODP lawsuit goes forward.
The legislation, which DeWine signed into law in July 2019, created a $1.3 billion bailout for the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear-power plants operated by FirstEnergy Corp. Federal prosecutors have alleged that GOP former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and numerous other individuals, including erstwhile Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, participated in a $61 million bribery scheme to effect the subsidies.
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“In recent years, there has been a global shift in attitudes toward the development of new nuclear technologies to deploy scalable clean energy,” Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, said. “This legislation will bring Ohio to the forefront of advanced nuclear innovation and strengthen our domestic supply chains. This legislation is a proactive measure to tell the federal government Ohio is here to be a solution to find a clean, carbon-free energy source.”
The new authority, according to a news release, would be responsible for the development of advanced nuclear reactor commercialization, isotope production and nuclear waste reduction.
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A dislodged member of the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee’s Financial Review panel told The Ohio Star and The Star News Network the former chairwoman of the state party and now a candidate for Senate, Jane E. Timken, violated professional ethics when she concealed that her family’s accounting firm was chosen to audit the Ohio GOP books.
“Jane Timken had a fiduciary responsibility to disclose her conflict of interest related to her personal relationship with the CLA accounting firm,” said Mark A. Bainbridge, who was removed from the Financial Review Committee by Timken’s successor Robert A. Paduchik after the certified public accountant asked about up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unaccountable funds.
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A group of Ohio economists believes government subsidies for coal power plants create distortions in the market, eliminates competition and does not produce positive results, according to a new survey from Scioto Analysis.
State leaders continue to pick apart House Bill 6, the scandal-ridden energy bill passed two years ago that produced billions of dollars for two state nuclear power plants but also included subsidies for coal plants and renewable energy producers. It also led to what federal prosecutors call the largest government corruption scandal in state history and the ouster of indicted former Speaker of the House Larry Householder.
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Last July, Neil Clark was arrested by FBI agents after a federal grand jury indicted him along with corporate entity Generation Now, then-Speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder (R-Glenford), former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, and political operatives Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth. Monday, Clark was found dead in Florida.
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Details are emerging on how Tyler Fehrman came to help the FBI bust Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, Matt Borges and three others in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme.
Cleveland.com reported on the details, including an interview with Fehrman, here.
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Leading Ohio Republicans have called on Speaker of the House Larry Householder (R-Glenford) to resign after his recent arrest for allegedly participating in a $60 million bribery scheme.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested Householder along with Matt Borges, the former Ohio Republican Party chairman; Jeffrey Longstreth, a longtime political strategist for Householder; Neil Clark, the former budget director for the Ohio Republican Caucus; and Juan Cespedes, a Columbus lobbyist.
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Matt Borges has been censured by the Ohio Republican Central Committee for working to defeat President Donald Trump and ensure Joe Biden wins the election.
Borges is the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. However, he has been running the Right Side PAC to support Biden, The Plain Dealer reported. The party said they took the action as well due to an FEC violation and Borges’ continued criticism of Trump. They also stripped his “chairman emeritus” status.
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Matt Borges, who was formerly the Ohio Republican Party chairman, has started a Super PAC with the intent of helping Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden win in November.
Borges along with former top Bush and Trump administration officials, including former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, launched Right Side PAC with the hope of getting disgruntled Republicans to vote for Biden.
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State representative candidate Joe Dills may have been unendorsed by the Ohio Republican Party — but the question on many people’s minds is why he was endorsed in the first place, when the state party leader once said she would steer clear of making endorsements in primaries and that she wanted to unite the party.
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