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Columbus, OH — Today, Cleveland.com previewed a bombshell book by former lobbyist Neil Clark, who was indicted in connection to the HB 6 scandal, that reportedly further connects Mike DeWine and Jon Husted to the corruption scheme. According to the reports, Clark’s book goes into detail about how involved DeWine and Husted were in the coordination of the HB 6 efforts, the way they allegedly worked to secure campaign donations from groups tied to the scandal and highlights the multiple connections the Republicans had to the scandal through their top-level staffers.  

From Cleveland.com: “‘We spent a long time talking about Husted and DeWine and the multiple [nonprofits and businesses] that each of them had access to,’ Clark wrote about the meeting with federal agents. ‘I gave them the names of fund-raisers and major vendors.’” 

As more and more information comes out about the largest corruption scandal in state history, DeWine and Husted find themselves increasingly linked to the alleged scheme that increased the cost of Ohioans’ energy bills in exchange for political and personal favors for Republican politicians. 

“The more we learn about the HB 6 scandal, the biggest corruption scandal in state history, the more we learn about the ways Mike DeWine and Jon Husted have connections to the scheme. DeWine and Husted can’t continue to ‘no comment’ their way out of this scandal. Ohio voters deserve answers and accountability from their top elected officials,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.  

Read more HERE and below: 

• Lobbyist Neil Clark told the FBI that no company “has ever owned as many politicians” as FirstEnergy Corp., adding that its top officials meddled in strategy involving House Bill 6, Clark’s new book says.
• It says he also described how Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, longtime proponents of FirstEnergy, used money from political nonprofits to fill their campaign coffers and shield the donors.
• “I gave [federal agents] enough to fill their gaps and prove my knowledge,” Clark wrote about his meeting with authorities on July 28, 2020, just days after his arrest on a federal racketeering charge. “After 3½ hours, we took a break. I could tell they were happy.”
• Clark questioned how DeWine, the state’s top elected official, could be spared scrutiny in the scandal when so many of his top staffers supported or had worked for FirstEnergy.
• The day after the arrests, DeWine said he supported the policy laid out in the bailout, saying it’s needed to preserve jobs at the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants and keep carbon-free sources of energy. He, however, called the way it was delivered “forever tainted.”
• Even before DeWine stumped for House Bill 6 and later signed it, reporters wrote about the relationship between his office and FirstEnergy.
• “We spent a long time talking about Husted and DeWine and the multiple [nonprofits and businesses] that each of them had access to,” Clark wrote about the meeting with federal agents. “I gave them the names of fund-raisers and major vendors.”
• Clark cited Sam Randazzo as an example of those with close ties to FirstEnergy and DeWine. Clark called Randazzo “the author of HB 6.” Records provided to the FBI in response to a subpoena confirm that, showing Randazzo was involved in writing portions of the bill.
• DeWine chose Randazzo, a utilities lawyer, in 2019 to lead the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. He resigned after federal agents searched his home in November.
• A day after the raid, DeWine appeared to support Randazzo: “I hired him. I think he’s a good person. If there’s evidence to the contrary, then we’ll act accordingly.”
• FirstEnergy has reported that it paid $4 million to an entity tied to a person “appointed to a full-time role as an Ohio government official directly involved in regulating” FirstEnergy in Ohio. In filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company did not name the person, but published reports and public records link the payment to Randazzo.

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Columbus, OH — Mike DeWine signed the budget passed by the GOP-led legislature that included a number of harmful provisions inserted by Republican politicians. DeWine had the opportunity to line-item veto a number of these extreme provisions — including a major tax break for the wealthy and well-connected, language that hurts local schools and attacks on women’s access to healthcare — but caved to GOP politicians instead.

“Leadership is about doing the right thing for the people you serve, regardless of politics or outside pressure. Mike DeWine sold out working Ohioans to placate extreme members of his own party and statehouse special interests,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — This weekend, nearly 2 million Ohioans are expected to travel for the Fourth of July holiday as our state and country are back on the road to recovery thanks to the leadership of President Biden and Democrats. Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan — which every single Ohio Congressional Republican voted against — more than 5 million Ohioans have been vaccinated, businesses are opening back up and Ohioans are getting the help they need to support themselves and their families. This weekend, Ohioans will be able to safely travel to see friends and families, host cookouts and celebrate the holiday with loved ones.

“The number of travelers is pretty close to pre-pandemic levels. Travelers have put off their plans for a year and a half so we’re seeing enthusiasm to get out there,” Cindy Russeau, the office manager at the AAA building on Airport Highway told the Toledo Blade. 

That’s a major shift from one year ago today when unemployment rates were in the double digits and health experts were questioning when we would be able to relax COVID-19 precautions and safely gather again.  

“Thanks to the leadership of President Biden, Senator Brown and Ohio Democrats, families across Ohio and around the country are able to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday this weekend and all the progress we’ve made over the last year. Ohio is back on the road to recovery and we’re looking forward to even more progress over the coming weeks and months under Democratic leadership,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more from the Toledo Blade HERE and below: 

• AAA expects about 2 million Ohioans will travel over the Fourth of July weekend.
• The company said they anticipate 1.9 million of those travelers will hop in their cars. Popular destinations include national parks like Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore to the west and beaches along the Atlantic Ocean to the East.
• “The number of travelers is pretty close to pre-pandemic levels. Travelers have put off their plans for a year and a half so we’re seeing enthusiasm to get out there,” Cindy Russeau, the office manager at the AAA building on Airport Highway, said.
• Ms. Russeau explained that with public health restrictions lifted nationwide, people are eager to travel again, but they feel more comfortable driving because they can control their exposure.

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Columbus, OH — Late last night, the GOP-controlled House and Senate passed a state budget that includes several toxic provisions inserted by extreme Republicans who are using the budget process to play politics with the welfare of working Ohioans. Republicans included language that would massively cut taxes for the wealthy and well-connected, cut funding for local schools in communities across Ohio and attack women’s access to healthcare.

Time and again, we’ve seen Mike DeWine cave to the extreme members of his own party, too weak to stand up to his fellow Republicans as they push through harmful legislation. DeWine is losing support within his own party by the day, and continues to choose politics over principle by backing down from a fight when GOP politicians go on the attack. It’s past time for DeWine to stand up to his own party and push back against these harmful provisions.

“Facing increasingly tough attacks from within his own party, Mike DeWine has been letting Republicans push him around all year. DeWine’s responsibility is to Ohioans, not his political party and special interests. If Mike DeWine lets these provisions remain in the final budget, it’s clear he’s more interested in serving himself than the people of Ohio,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Provisions inserted in the budget that would harm working Ohioans and that DeWine must veto include:

• A tax cut that will disproportionately benefit the wealthy and well-connected by eliminating the top income bracket and lowering the tax rate for wealthy Ohioans.

• Language that would take away money from local public schools in communities across Ohio by greatly increasing funding for school vouchers and a provision to further expand charter schools.
• Provisions that insert politics into Ohioans’ healthcare, including language that would allow medical providers to refuse to treat patients for religious reasons and a provision to place unnecessary restrictions on two women’s healthcare centers, cutting off access to healthcare for southwest Ohioans.

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Columbus, OH — Last week, through court filings, FirstEnergy admitted that it “pumped” $20 million into Partners for Progress, a dark money group that played a key role in what is considered the largest public corruption case in the country. From Gannett’s Laura Bischoff:

“The [FirstEnergy] filing connects the dots that had been previously laid out in an FBI criminal complaint and IRS forms filed by Partners for Progress and Generation Now, 501(c)4 nonprofit organizations, which are often called dark money groups because they don’t have to disclose their funders.

“In total, the filing claims FirstEnergy Service Company, which is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, gave $36.6 million to Generation Now and $20 million to Partners for Progress, which sent $13 million to Generation Now.”

This revelation highlights the growing connections between Governor Mike DeWine’s office and this scandal. When he became governor, DeWine appointed Dan McCarthy, the founder and president of Partners for Progress and a former FirstEnergy lobbyist, to be his top lobbyist as the Director of Legislative Affairs. Now, DeWine owes it to Ohioans to explain what he knew and when about his administration’s growing connections to this scandal.

1. Dan McCarthy has said he didn’t think there was “anything improper” happening when Partners for Progress funneled millions of dollars to Generation Now. If that’s the case, what did he think was the purpose of that transaction? Was Governor DeWine aware of these transactions when he hired McCarthy?

2. Was McCarthy in touch with Generation Now as his group, Partners for Progress, was funnelling millions of dark money dollars to them?
3. What did Governor DeWine know about these transactions when he hired McCarthy?
4. Now that FirstEnergy has all but admitted its role in this bribery scandal, when will DeWine return the more than $116,600 in donations from the company and its former CEO, as he had previously promised to do?
5. Then-candidate DeWine met with FirstEnergy executives one day before the company gave $500,000 to the RGA and also met with executives in December 2018 shortly before appointing former FirstEnergy lobbyist Sam Randazzo to be the state’s top energy regulator. What promises did DeWine make to those FirstEnergy executives at those meetings?

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