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LaRose’s Hollow Claims about Fighting for Election Integrity and Telling the Truth to Both Sides Ring Hollow as He Once Again Tries to Placate Trump Republicans

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it (for over a year now), Joe Biden is in fact the president and the election was not “rigged.” Just don’t ask Frank LaRose to answer any of those questions and expect to get a straight response. At the Hamilton County Board of Elections yesterday, LaRose once again showed he’s a coward by attempting to duck questions on the 2020 election in Ohio. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that LaRose couldn’t even give a straight answer on who won the 2020 election and spent most of the time praising Trump, scared of alienating his Republican base that’s already skeptical of him. 

“But when asked by The Enquirer whether he believed Trump won or lost the 2020 election nationally, LaRose didn’t give a simple answer,” writes the Enquirer. 

“Frank LaRose talked a big game about calling out election lies when they happen, but his political calculus has clearly changed as he’s sounding more like Josh Mandel every day.  By refusing to tell voters the truth clearly and directly and by failing once again to stand up to his own party, Larose made it clear his own political ambitions will always come first,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

You can read more from the Enquirer here and below: 

• As the sound of papers being shuffled filled the large room, LaRose stood before a placard stating “Security, transparency, integrity” and told the press Ohio’s elections are safe and secure.

• But when asked by The Enquirer whether he believed Trump won or lost the 2020 election nationally, LaRose didn’t give a simple answer.

• “I can speak for Ohio,” LaRose said Tuesday. “I can tell you President Trump won a decisive victory in Ohio, in fact, a record-setting victory. Nobody has ever gotten 3 million votes in our state history.”

• LaRose, a Republican first elected to secretary of state in 2018, didn’t directly criticize Trump.

• LaRose faces a primary challenge in 2022 from former state legislator John Adams, a Trump loyalist who has touted debunked claims that cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s win.

• LaRose voiced concerns about “last-minute changes” being made by courts to the election process in some states, though he didn’t cite specific examples. He did dismiss false conspiracy theories about bamboo ballots from China and “secret algorithms.”

• After a two-minute explanation, LaRose recognized President Joe Biden’s victory. “Under the rules in place, President Biden won,” LaRose said.

• Does Trump bear responsibility for undermining people’s faith in elections?

• LaRose didn’t call Trump out by name. Instead, he called out Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams for not conceding the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election. Abrams was the only politician he criticized by name.

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Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement as the Supreme Court begins oral arguments on the dangerous Mississippi 15-week abortion ban that effectively renders Roe v. Wade meaningless:

“As the Supreme Court begins to hear arguments on Mississippi’s dangerous abortion ban, it puts a spotlight on Ohio Republicans’ relentless efforts to strip healthcare away and put the reproductive rights of thousands of Ohioans at risk. Ohio Republican politicians at every level are trying to ban abortion and insert themselves in a decision that should be between Ohioans and their doctors. In 2022, Ohioans will hold Republicans accountable as they continue to relentlessly attack Ohioans’ rights and put their health and safety at risk.”

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West Chester Township, OH —  Today, all of the leading GOP Senate candidates participated in a forum with the Ohio Press Network in West Chester Township. In response, Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Michael Beyer released the following statement:  

“While Democrats are focused on lowering costs, rebuilding our infrastructure and growing jobs in Ohio, the out-of-touch millionaires running for U.S. Senate added more fuel to the fire in their never-ending brawl. With less than six months to go and millions more to spend, tonight’s forum highlighted just how low each of the Ohio GOP Senate candidates are willing to go to put their own self-serving ambition first and turn off Ohioans in the process.”

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Good Monday afternoon, and welcome back to Mike Check, your weekly source of all the infighting, conspiracy spewing and corruption that’s making headlines in and around the Republican governor’s race and Mike DeWine’s statehouse, courtesy of the Ohio Democratic Party.

As the gubernatorial race heats up, Republicans are in disarray with Mike DeWine’s popularity dropping by the day, facing attacks both inside and outside of the Republican Party, and having to answer for the largest public corruption scandal in state history. It’s hard to keep up with all of the corruption and mess surrounding Mike DeWine and the GOP gubernatorial primary, so here are some stories you may have missed:

WHAT DOES JON KNOW? While we all knew Jon Husted likely knew much more about the HB 6 scandal than he wants us to believe, former FirstEnergy lobbyist Michael Dowling confirmed as much last week when he listed Husted as someone he believed would have “knowledge of the underlying factual allegations” of the HB6 scandal. DeWine and Husted continue to duck questions from the media and try to “no comment” their way out of the largest public corruption scandal in state history. But with these latest revelations, it’s more important than ever that DeWine and Husted answer what they knew and when and disclose any role they played in the ongoing scandal.

WHEN THE WORST PERSON YOU KNOW MAKES A GREAT POINT. When even Jim Renacci, who knows a scandal better than anyone (read: Ben Suarez and a strip club plane), is calling you out for your corruption, you know you’ve got it bad.

DEWINE ON DEFENSE. Mike DeWine continues to get called out for putting his own political interests ahead of the interests of Ohio voters after he signed an unconstitutional, gerrymandered congressional map into law. Mike DeWine once again showed Ohio voters that you can only count on DeWine for one thing: naked, partisan self-interest. DeWine is scared of a Republican primary and the extreme GOP legislature, and he’ll do anything to protect his own political interests, including things he promised not to do.

Thanks for catching up with us, that’s all the Mike Check we’ve got for this week. If you have questions my email is [email protected]. Have a great week!

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Columbus, OH — U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance finally filed his personal financial disclosure last week after he “blew past the October 29 deadline to file federally mandated financial-disclosure forms” – and it’s clear what he was trying to hide: his Big Tech ties, Hollywood ties, and his D.C. ambitions from Ohioans.

Two reports dive deeper into just how much money Vance made from his Big Tech ties and what questions remain from his financial disclosure. According to a CNBC report, in the year leading up to his Senate run, Vance made nearly $1 million, and a “great deal of his income as listed in the new disclosure report came from ventures linked to Facebook board member Thiel and other tech investors.” According to a Business Insider report, Vance did not include how much money he made from the Netflix adaptation of his novel.

“Silicon Valley Vance left Ohio behind to make a fortune in Big Tech while working Ohioans are just looking for a fair shot to be able to take care of themselves and their families. Ohioans can spot a phony when they see one, and all they see when they look at J.D. Vance is just another out-of-touch millionaire who is only looking out for his own interests, not theirs,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Business Insider: Senate candidate J.D. Vance just made $347,752 from ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ and has millions in business investments, documents show

Kimberly Leonard, Adam Wren, and Meghan Morris

November 26, 2021

• Republican Senate candidate and “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance earned $347,752 in royalties last year from his bestselling memoir, new documents show.
• But Vance’s documents, filed November 24 with the Senate clerk and well past a federal deadline, appear to be missing key details, including how much money Vance made from the Netflix adaptation of his novel.
• In addition to detailing Vance’s income, the documents show that he holds financial interests that span numerous industries, including tech, healthcare, retail, housing, and energy.
• In recent months, Vance and his campaign repeatedly declined to answer questions about his finances from Insider, including how he, as a senator, would avoid conflicts of interest with his investments. Vance’s campaign did not immediately respond to Insider’s latest questions, including why financial information about the Netflix deal wasn’t in the document.
• In all, Vance has invested in 122 companies, shows an Insider analysis of the disclosure. That includes as much as $250,000-worth of shares in Rumble, the Canadian video sharing platform rivaling YouTube that’s popular with conservatives; and as much as $500,000 in Memoir, a photo-sharing app that rivals TimeHop.
• The value of his investments is as low as $730,128 and as high as $3.2 million. Most of his investments were individually valued between $1,001 and $15,000. (Candidates for Congress are required to report their investments only in broad ranges.)
• The document does show that Vance’s salary at Narya, the venture capital firm he started in 2019 before taking a leave of absence to campaign, is $408,106. Separately, Vance values “other” Narya-related income at more than $1.1 million.
• He earned another $125,000 through promoting his speeches and writing, according to his financial disclosure.
• The documents additionally show Vance made $125,216 from Rise of the Rest, a firm created by billionaire Steve Case that invests in tech startups located in areas friendly to former President Donald Trump. Vance left the company in 2019, and his Senate campaign didn’t immediately respond to a question from Insider about whether the payment was from 2019 or whether he is still employed there in some fashion.
• The personal-finance disclosure doesn’t offer a complete window into Vance’s finances and tech investments, most of could take years to pay off — if they ever do.
• Vance isn’t required to list the value of his primary residence, nor must he offer details about his charitable giving. He also isn’t required to detail his earnings from previous years, including his work at Mithril Capital, a venture-capital firm backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
• While the document outlining Vance’s finances was by law due October 29, Vance filed it nearly a month late. Federal officials generally waive a $200 late-filing fee as long as a candidate files no more than 30 days late. But Vance is still in violation of the law for failing to disclose the financial documents on time.
• He has disavowed — and deleted — his past anti-Trump tweets and made peace with the former president in a Thiel-brokered meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Now, he’s a vocal Trump supporter who has been criticized for various inflammatory tweets and far-right rhetoric.
• Vance declined to comment on Insider’s August investigation into his mixed record as a tech investor and nonprofit founder.
• In May, Thiel wrote a $10 million check — Vox reported it was the “biggest political bet” of his career — to a super PAC supporting Vance’s candidacy. The Mercers, the billionaire conservative family who helped bankroll Trump’s rise to power in 2016, also made what a Vance aide called a “significant contribution” to the PAC.

CNBC: J.D. Vance, an ally of tech investor Peter Thiel, made almost $1 million in the period before he launched his Ohio Senate campaign

Brian Schwartz

November 26, 2021

• Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, an ally of billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel and an advocate for Trump-style conservative populism, earned nearly $1 million in income in the runup to the launch of his campaign.
• Most of Vance’s earnings came from his Thiel-backed venture capital firm and royalties from his bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” according to Vance’s financial disclosure, which was reviewed by CNBC.
• A spokeswoman for Vance’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on the newly released disclosure. Vance appeared to have previously missed the 90 day extension to file no later than Oct. 29, but his spokeswoman previously suggested to CNBC that they had an extra 30 days to comply.
• “We’re waiting on a few additional pieces to include in the report. Once received, we will file well within the 30-day period provided for in the rules,” Taylor Van Kirk, Vance’s spokeswoman, told CNBC last month.
• Vance announced his candidacy this past summer. He has made attacks on Big Tech a key focus of his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat that Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is vacating. Yet a great deal of his income as listed in the new disclosure report came from ventures linked to Facebook board member Thiel and other tech investors.
• Vance made just over $400,000 in salary from his Ohio-based venture capital firm Narya Capital. The $93 million firm is backed by Thiel and fellow major tech investors Marc Andreessen, Eric Schmidt and Scott Dorsey, according to Axios. Thiel has put $10 million toward a super PAC backing Vance. Vance once worked at an investment firm called Mithril Capital, which was co-founded by Thiel.
• Vance made a little over $125,000 from the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, a startup investment arm of Washington, D.C.-based Revolution, which was founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case. Vance also received $125,000 in salary from J.D. Vance Enterprises LLC, which, according to Ohio business records, is intended to “manage and promote the speaking, writing and media appearances of policy analyst and commentator J.D. Vance.”
• Royalties from Vance’s 2016 book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was adapted into a Netflix movie last year, totaled just over $345,000.
• His new disclosure also lists investments into dozens of companies, including Anduril Industries, a defense technology company that for years has received millions of dollars’ worth of government contracts.
• Anduril was founded by Palmer Luckey, a previous supporter of former President Donald Trump. Vance’s disclosure shows the investment is worth between $1,000 and $15,000 in corporate securities and he made very little money off the investment. Thiel is also an investor into Anduril, according to a report by Bloomberg.
• Under his assets, Vance lists Narya Capital. He appears to have made an additional $1 million-plus in returns from the fund.
• Vance also lists BTC, the abbreviation for bitcoin, under his list of assets. His investment is valued between $100,000 and $250,000 into BTC. Vance has previously blasted efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies. He also owns between $50,000 and $100,000 in Walmart stock.

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