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COLUMBUS, OH – While “one of the most high-profile tasks Ohio’s next attorney general will face is overseeing the second prosecution of ex-FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling on public-corruption charges starting early next year,” in new bombshell reporting from Cleveland.com, Republican candidate for Attorney General Keith Faber is refusing to commit to continuing the case if elected. The FirstEnergy bribery scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities, has rippled through Republican-controlled Columbus, and has contributed to electricity costs increasing by $663 a year for Ohioans.

“The next Attorney General of the state of Ohio will be tasked with the immense responsibility of overseeing the prosecution of FirstEnergy executives in the largest public corruption scandal in state history – and Keith Faber is proving every day that he can’t be trusted to get the job done,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “Ohioans deserve an Attorney General who will bring transparency and accountability to Columbus after decades of Republican control have raised costs for Ohio families and allowed corruption to run rampant – Ohioans are seeing every day that John Kulewicz is that leader.”

Read more on Faber’s refusal to commit to continuing the case in the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history:

Cleveland.com: Only one Ohio AG candidate pledges to continue FirstEnergy bribery trial

• One of the most high-profile tasks Ohio’s next attorney general will face is overseeing the second prosecution of ex-FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling on public-corruption charges starting early next year.
• But so far, only one of the two candidates running for Ohio attorney general this fall – Democrat John Kulewicz – has pledged to continue the case if elected. The Republican nominee, Keith Faber, says he’ll hold off on committing to any course of action until he discusses the case with AG staffers after taking office.
• After the pair’s first trial ended in a hung jury in April, then-Attorney General Dave Yost obtained a new, expanded grand jury indictment against them last month. “The roots of this complex case haven’t changed – FirstEnergy was hijacked by two scheming executives who sought to control the regulator that influenced the company’s stock prices,” Yost, a Columbus Republican, said at the time.
• Jury selection in the new trial, initially set for September, is now scheduled to begin in early January, a few days before Wilson’s term ends and either Faber or Kulewicz is sworn into office.
• Kulewicz, a retired attorney and Upper Arlington City Council member, said in an interview Thursday that, if elected, he has “every intention of moving forward” with the case
• “I believe the state should move forward as fast as possible with the new indictment,” he said. “The people of Ohio deserve a speedy trial of those charges and a final resolution of the matter.”
• Faber, a Mercer County resident currently serving as Ohio’s state auditor, declined in a statement to say what he would do about the prosecution.

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COLUMBUS, OH – With all eyes on battleground Ohio, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde authored an opinion piece in The Hill on Ohio’s safe and secure elections and the anti-voter efforts that are creating headlines for all the wrong reasons. While Republicans in Columbus and Washington continue to spread election conspiracies, Chair Clyde emphasizes in her opinion piece that at a time when Ohio families are struggling in the face of sky-high costs, “what the Republican politicians are doing has nothing to do with safeguarding our elections — and it certainly has nothing to do with lowering costs. It is all about them desperately trying to create outrage over an issue that doesn’t exist because they hope it could increase turnout among their base.”

Read more below from Chair Clyde’s opinion piece featured in The Hill on the importance of standing against anti-voter efforts, and supporting eligible Ohioans in voting in Ohio’s safe and secure elections:

• As Ohio returns to battleground status ahead of November’s midterm election, our state is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.  
• In the span of just a few weeks, we’ve gotten an up-close-and-personal look at how the fight over voting rights is evolving. The Republican-controlled statehouse has pushed legislation and a constitutional amendment that would make it harder for eligible Ohioans to vote while the FBI, presumably on orders from Washington, raided a voting rights organization. 
• When looking at the dangers of these attacks on voting rights in Ohio, let’s start with a simple fact: Ohio’s elections are safe, they’re secure and they’re free from widespread fraud. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has stated this and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) has even called our elections the “gold standard.”
• And yet, statehouse Republicans in Columbus recently attempted to pass legislation that would require voters trying to cast their ballot by mail to submit actual copies of their photo ID — legislation that DeWine had to veto because it was both harmful to eligible voters and unnecessary.
• Statehouse Republicans also recently forced on the statewide ballot in November an unnecessary constitutional amendment to insert Ohio’s already existing voter ID requirement into the state Constitution. In other words, Republicans want voters to spend time and money enshrining in our Constitution a policy that is already state law, for Ohio’s elections — which are already safe, secure and free from widespread fraud.
• We are fighting back. We are sending a message to the Trump administration and to Republican politicians in Washington and Columbus that no attempt to stoke fear, spread confusion and silence voters will stop us. 
• Ohioans want — and deserve — leaders who will keep our already safe and secure elections running smoothly for generations to come. What Ohioans do not want are needless barriers that only make it more difficult for Ohio’s seniors, military servicemembers, disabled people, college students and others to vote. What Ohioans do not want is federal law enforcement being weaponized to target organizations that help register eligible voters.  
• What Ohioans do want, in contrast, are leaders who will support Ohio families and lower the costs that they face at a time when Ohioans of all political backgrounds are struggling. 
• Of course, what the Republican politicians are doing has nothing to do with safeguarding our elections — and it certainly has nothing to do with lowering costs. It is all about them desperately trying to create outrage over an issue that doesn’t exist because they hope it could increase turnout among their base. 
• With Election Day approaching, it is critical that eligible voters feel confident that they can register, cast a ballot and participate in our democratic process without fear or confusion. We’re fighting back in Ohio because we know that our democracy is strongest when all eligible voters are able to vote.  
• Voting, after all, is how Ohioans make their voices heard. It is how we have a say in our state’s future. And, in case the statehouse Republicans have forgotten, it is also the core foundation of our democracy.
   

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