Ohio’s Secretary of State is accusing fellow Republican and former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder of 162 violations of campaign finance laws, related to the felony criminal charges for bribery and racketeering he’s facing in federal court.
Ohio Secetary of State Frank LaRose says he’s connected the dots, building on the work done by the FBI in its criminal complaint naming Householder and four others, including the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party. Those reported violations have been turned over to the Ohio Elections Commission.
The allegations in this filing relate to not only the nuclear bailout law the five pushed for, but also the effort to stop the attempt to put the law on the ballot last year. LaRose says Householder and his group established shell companies to conceal contributions, converted funds for personal use, and that threats and intimidation were used to keep people from signing petitions.
The filing also names several entities that were charged in the federal case, including Generation Now and "Company A", widely believed to be FirstEnergy.
Meanwhile, the group that ran the failed bail-out repeal campaign has been fined by the Ohio Elections Commission. The now-defunct Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts faces a fine of more than $5,200 each day since the January 31 campaign finance deadline for failing to file a report that reveals its donors. The fine could be reconsidered if the group files a report.
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