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Columbus, OH- Last week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost asked Democratic Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner to recuse herself from the case of Citizens Not Politicians vs Ohio Ballot Board. She refused and will hear this case as originally scheduled, but this request is yet another example of AG Yost prioritizing partisanship over the law. 

This isn’t the first time that Yost has tried to change the rules because he didn’t like or was afraid of the result. After voters overwhelmingly enshrined abortion rights in their state constitution, Yost said that some parts of the state’s extreme, out-of-touch abortion ban may still be constitutional and then suggested that Ohioans didn’t know what they voted for.

“This unnecessary and untimely request is typical of an Attorney General who is more interested in playing politics than upholding his oath to work for the people,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “This isn’t the first time that Yost has acted on his deep-seated commitment to putting partisanship over the rule of law, and unfortunately for Ohioans, it won’t be the last.”

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Columbus, OH — Last week, Cleveland.com’s Today in Ohio spotlighted JD Vance’s flip-flopping record on abortion and asked the question that’s been on voters’ minds across the country. Can we trust what he says now?

Ohioans have known who JD Vance is since the beginning of his political career- an anti-abortion extremist who will say or do anything to get more power. It came as no surprise to Ohioans when JD pretended to moderate his record to suit his national ambitions, all while ignoring what his actual constituents wanted. 

Read more from Today in Ohio and find the full transcript here.

He was at the Ohio March for Life. He campaigned vigorously against Ohio’s issue one that enshrined reproductive rights in the constitution. Donald Trump said he wasn’t for a federal abortion ban, so now Vance is pretty much saying the same thing. […] He seems like he’s changing by the minute for expedience.

“You can’t trust that what he’s saying now will be what he’s saying in three months because he has repeatedly changed it. Just two years ago, he wanted a blanket ban with no exceptions for incest or rape. And today he favors the abortion drug. But really, what does he stand for?”

It’s frightening to have somebody that is so wishy washy on something of this importance. I don’t understand why any woman hearing this would vote for this guy. When somebody stands for nothing like he does, you can’t trust him.

Can we trust Vance now? To answer the question, Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer released the following statement.

“No.”

Columbus, OH – New reporting last week revealed “previously unreported court records” that show Moreno destroyed even more evidence than originally known to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned. Additionally, when asked why he destroyed evidence and stole wages in an interview, Moreno echoed lies that multiple fact-checks have already debunked as “false.”

Moreno has previously been caught deliberately shredding evidence to get out of paying his workers and “improperly alter[ing]” documentation to try to get away with “retaliat[ing] by firing” his former employee after he spoke out about not getting paid “money that Moreno personally promised him.”

Read More About Moreno’s Record Of  “Stiffing Workers” And Destroying Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Workers:

• Spectrum News: Bernie Moreno’s business record takes center stage in Senate bid

• Business Insider: Trump-backed Ohio Senate candidate shredded documents as he faced a lawsuit accusing him of wage theft

• Cleveland.com: Bernie Moreno got sued by an employee who said he didn’t get paid what he was promised. Here’s what happened.

• WKYC: No, Bernie Moreno’s claims that Massachusetts courts overturned federal law in wage theft lawsuits and made rulings retroactive are not true: VERIFY

• Mother Jones: A GOP Senate Candidate Blames “Liberal” Judges for His Labor Violations. Just One Problem With That. The judges were largely appointed by Republicans.

• WKYC: How many times was Ohio US Senate candidate Bernie Moreno sued during his business career? VERIFY

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The Statehouse News Bureau: “Moreno Sought And Signed Off On $40 Million Worth Of Mercedes-Benz Financing And Bought A Plot Of Property In Sunbury For The Auto Storefront, According To Delaware County Recorder’s Office Documents.”

Columbus, OH – Following reporting from NBC News that caught Bernie Moreno “preparing a return to the auto industry,” new reporting revealed Bernie Moreno “sought and signed off on $40 million worth of Mercedes-Benz financing” to open a new car dealership in Sunbury despite telling Ohioans “for more than a year that he sold off business interests.”

Read More:

The Statehouse News Bureau: In US Senate race, unions chide Moreno for central Ohio dealership plans
Sarah Donaldson
September 7, 2024

• [Labor unions] bashed the political newcomer [Bernie Moreno] Friday over plans to construct a car dealership north of Columbus.

• Moreno has maintained for more than a year that he sold off business interests, including more than a dozen car dealerships he once owned in the Midwest, in preparation for political candidacy.

• “I’ve sold all my operating businesses,” he said in November 2023. “I wanted to go to Washington, D.C., free of any conflicts of interest. No individual stocks, no individual bonds, no corporate holdings. I’ve made that sacrifice to run for the U.S. Senate.”

• But Moreno sought and signed off on $40 million worth of Mercedes-Benz financing and bought a plot of property in Sunbury for the auto storefront, according to Delaware County Recorder’s Office documents. NBC News originally broke the story.

• Union leaders with the local AFL-CIO, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council and United Auto Workers held a news conference across the street from the future auto storefront Friday…

• Dorsey Hager, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council, said it’s not about the investments themselves.

• “It’s a free market economy,” Hager said. “But when he comes out and he wins the primary and he says he’s going to focus 100% on his Senate run, and then if he gets elected, focus on the workers in Ohio, obviously that’s a very dishonest statement … It’s going to be his name on the dealership…”

LISTEN TO MORE FROM THE STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU HERE

Jeff Gase, UAW Region 2B Central Ohio CAP Council Chairperson: “[Moreno’s] just a big fat cat. He wants all the profits. He wants the money. Wants it for himself.”

Sarah Donaldson, The Statehouse News Bureau: “…union leaders were standing in front of the quintessential union mascot, a fat cat inflatable it basked in the sun Friday off a busy road in Sunbury, across from a plot of property Moreno bought earlier this year that will eventually host a Mercedes Benz dealership.”

Jamie Shumaker, Ohio AFL-CIO Central Ohio CLC Executive Director: “I don’t buy [Moreno’s excuses] one bit.”

SEE ALSO: NEW: Car Salesman Bernie Moreno Caught “Preparing Return To Auto Industry” After Claiming He “Sold Off All Of His Business To Avoid Conflicts Of Interest”; “New Controversy” For Bernie Moreno As He’s Caught Getting Back Into Car Dealership Business; Bernie Moreno “Under Scrutiny” One Week After Getting Caught “Preparing A Return To Auto Industry”

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Columbus, OH – It’s been another terrible week for car salesman Bernie Moreno after new reporting from Spectrum News revealed Moreno destroyed even more evidence than previously reported to get out of paying his employees. Plus, Moreno is facing scrutiny after new audio uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch revealed Bernie Moreno claimed the majority of Ohioans “cheat[ed]” to pass abortion rights.

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

• New reporting from Spectrum News revealed “previously unreported court records” that show Bernie Moreno destroyed even more evidence to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned, including “daily schedules.”

• In new audio uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch, Bernie Moreno claimed the majority of Ohioans “cheat[ed]” to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution last year.

• MORE fact checks exposed Moreno’s lies – correcting the record that Moreno has been sued “at least 50 times” and that his attacks against Sherrod are “false.”

• Ohio workers in Martins Ferry “denounced” Bernie Moreno for “screwing” his employees and “slam[med]” Moreno for being “nothing but a liar.”

📄 MORENO DESTROYED EVEN MORE DOCUMENTS: Spectrum News uncovered “previously unreported court records” that show Bernie Moreno destroyed even more evidence to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned, including “daily schedules.” When asked why he destroyed evidence and stole wages, Moreno echoed lies that multiple fact-checks have already debunked as “false.”

WATCH MORE FROM SPECTRUM NEWS HERE

Spectrum News: “But the judge sanctioned Moreno for destroying evidence, including monthly overtime reports and previously unreported court records also show Moreno either lost or destroyed daily schedules that could have been used to corroborate the monthly reports.”

❌ BERNIE ASPIRES TO OVERRULE THE WILL OF OHIOANS: New audio uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch this week revealed Bernie Moreno claimed the majority of Ohioans “cheat[ed]” to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution last year. Moreno has repeatedly supported overruling the will of Ohio voters by passing a national abortion ban and has said he is “100% pro-life, no exceptions.”

🔥 CHECK YOUR FACTS, BERNIE: Two recent fact checks make it clear Ohioans can’t trust a word Pants-On-Fire Bernie Moreno says – from lying about the “at least 50 times” he has been sued, which is “much more than” what Moreno has falsely claimed on the campaign trail, to Moreno spreading “misleading” and “false” claims in ads.

🤥 “NOTHING BUT A LIAR”: That’s what Ohio workers in Martins Ferry called Bernie Moreno this week as they “slam[med]” him for “screwing” his employees. Workers across the state have “condemn[ed]” Moreno for “lying to [workers’] faces,” “selling out workers,” and “stiffing his employees.”

• Frank Papini, President Of USW Steelworkers Organization Of Active Retirees: “We don’t agree with what Bernie Moreno is doing. I think [he is] a fraud, he’s caused a lot of problems with workers…”

• Mel Woods, UMWA Local 1304 Financial Secretary: “…Moreno is nothing but a liar.”

• Dave Dilly, UMWA Ohio Coal Miners Political Action Coordinator: “He was a car salesman and it’s my understanding that he screwed over some of his employees.”

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING THIS WEEK:

• PolitiFact: “We rate [Moreno’s] claim False.”

• TiffinOhio.net: “An investigation by WKYC has uncovered that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno has been sued more than 50 times by former employees, significantly more than the five lawsuits he claimed in a recent interview.”

• FOX: “Moreno has said he would vote for a national abortion ban…”

• The Columbus Dispatch: “Moreno appears to harbor frustration about the decision to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution.”

• Jezebel: Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Blames Abortion Victory on Organizers Cheating & Evangelicals Not Voting

• Spectrum News: “… financial disclosures show Moreno still manages a company that is developing a new Mercedes-Benz dealership in the Columbus area.”

• Times Leader: “…Moreno testified that he did not retain documents from the dealership when he sold it as part of M11 Motors LLC to new owners. Moreno added that he shredded documents sometime in late 2020.”

• WTOV: “Union leaders attacked Moreno’s integrity about business decisions affecting his employees.”

• Frank Papini, President Of USW Steelworkers Organization Of Active Retirees: “He’s a used car dealer, and has no idea what a good day’s work is.”

• Dave Dilly, UMWA Ohio Coal Miners Political Action Coordinator: “He’s always catered to the rich people… he screwed some of his employees and got caught with it…”

• Daniel Lippman, POLITICO: “… a trust belonging in part to the wealthy Republican Senate candidate [Bernie Moreno] was more than a year late on paying a $20,000 tax bill on a house that it owns.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK:

🎶 CODA: “[Moreno’s] always been for himself…”

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