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Columbus, OH – Today is the final edition of Bad News Bernie – what a ride it has been. From refusing to pay his employees and destroying the evidence to get away with it, to mocking and insulting Ohioans for caring about abortion rights, to the pattern of lies that has haunted his campaign since the very beginning, there has been a lot of Bad News for Bernie Moreno, and this week was no different. Thanks for tuning in as Moreno proved to Ohioans week after week that he only looks out for himself.

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

• Recent reporting caught Moreno in yet another lie, this time about using an anti-recording device on Ohio voters to “block people from recording his events,” despite claiming that “the gadget was ‘only being used against trackers, rather than regular event attendees.”

• Moreno said he “would support cutting all federal funding for child care” even though “more than half of Ohio’s child care funding” comes from federal sources, and told an Ohio mother he “[doesn’t] support” funding to increase access to childcare.

• New reporting from Cleveland.com revealed Moreno was sued by his former mentor for stealing “confidential company data.”

🔥 PANTS ON FIRE: Last week, Bernie Moreno got caught using an anti-recording device to prevent Ohioans from hearing what he has to say – and now, new reporting from Mother Jones caught Moreno using the anti-recording device on Ohio voters to “block people from recording his events.” Moreno’s use of the device follows him “land[ing] himself in hot water” after he was caught “mocking” Ohio women and calling them “a little crazy” for wanting to make their own health care decisions.

WATCH MORE FROM WCMH HERE

👨‍👩‍👦 MORENO DOESN’T CARE ABOUT OHIO MOTHERS: New reporting this week revealed that Bernie Moreno said he “would support cutting all federal funding for child care” even though “more than half of Ohio’s child care funding” comes from federal sources. As Ohio working families are facing a childcare crisis, Moreno told an Ohio mother he doesn’t support funding to increase access to childcare. Moreno has previously faced scrutiny for telling a woman who worked for him to “put your kids in f***ing daycare” after “she asked about flexibility in her work schedule.”

🚘 LAWSUIT AFTER LAWSUIT AFTER LAWSUIT AFTER LAWSUIT: New reporting this week found Bernie Moreno was sued by his former mentor for stealing “confidential company data” after he moved to Ohio. This is the latest example in “a series of lawsuits that have come to light” against Moreno – who has been sued at least 50 times – including over a dozen lawsuits for refusing to pay his employees the overtime wages they earned and multiple lawsuits for gender and age discrimination. Read more from Cleveland.com here:

• … [Moreno’s] former employer – led by a helicopter-commuting billionaire named Herb Chambers – sued him in 2005, claiming Moreno misappropriated confidential company data and used its resources to poach customers.

• In legal filings that have surfaced during the campaign, Moreno has been accused of gender and age discrimination. More than a dozen dealership employees sued Moreno over unpaid overtime. Another said Moreno stiffed him on profit sharing he was promised.

• The suit claimed Moreno sold about 20 cars through his dealership to Chambers customers in violation of a confidentiality agreement and accused him of “improperly” advertising his Ohio dealership in Massachusetts.

• Years later, more than dozen lawsuits were filed against Moreno by employees at his Burlington dealership, claiming Moreno didn’t pay them overtime. Ultimately, Moreno was ordered to pay two of the workers more than $400,000, and 14 other lawsuits were settled for an undisclosed amount, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

• Moreno and his company or subsidiary also has faced three discrimination lawsuits in Cuyahoga County between 2015 and 2017, according to the Associated Press.

😾 FAT CAT RETURNS: In Toledo, Mansfield, and Northwood, Ohioans were reminded that Fat Cat Bernie Moreno “stiff[ed] workers” and faced “more than 50 lawsuits” – including over a dozen where he refused to pay his employees the overtime wages they earned and destroyed the evidence to try to get away with it.

Ohioans in Mansfield slam Moreno for stiffing his workers.

Ohioans in Toledo call out Moreno’s record refusing to pay his employees.

Ohioans in Northwood protest Moreno over his record of screwing workers.

🤑 ONLY OUT FOR HIMSELF: There’s one thing Ohioans know about Bernie Moreno: he only looks out for himself. From “stiffing workers” and “destroy[ing] evidence” to get out of paying his employees the wages they earned, to his comments mocking Ohio women for caring about the ability to make their own health care decisions, and supporting a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans who voted to protect abortion rights last year, Moreno has made it clear he won’t fight for Ohio.

• Moreno’s campaign has been “clouded” by a “slew of lawsuits for workers’ wages and workplace discrimination,” including over a dozen lawsuits where Moreno refused to pay his workers the overtime they earned, and deliberately destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of it.

• Moreno called Ohioans “a little crazy” for caring about a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, said he is “100 percent pro-life with no exceptions,” and would vote for a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans.

• Moreno has been caught in lie after lie on the campaign trail and has faced scrutiny for the “string of inconsistencies that have dogged his campaign.” Moreno was caught repeatedly lying about selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision which contributed to “Ohio jobs being shipped overseas,” lying about his phony “rags-to-riches” story as the “signature pitch” of his campaign, and lying about “s[elling] off all of his businesses” while spending nearly $50 million to open a new car dealership.

• Moreno opposed the bipartisan bill to secure the border, opposed Sherrod’s bill to crack down on dangerous fentanyl, and said he won’t work across the aisle to fight for Ohio.

• Moreno isn’t the self-made outsider he claims to be. Despite claiming he “built his car dealer empire all on his own,” Moreno actually received “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” and “leveraged his family connections” and the “Moreno Family cash reserves” to enrich himself. Moreno has exploited his insider political connections to boost his businesses and is “heavily invested” in and profited off of a family enrichment scheme with his brothers by funneling U.S. taxpayer money into banks that financed projects his family oversaw.

🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING THIS WEEK:

• UAW Local 14 President Tony Totty: “[Bernie Moreno] does not live up to the values of Northwest Ohio and all of Ohio. He’s been lying in the media, and we wanted to confront his lies to his face.”

• Cleveland.com: Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno’s falling out with a billionaire mentor led to legal battle, move to Ohio

• American Journal: Republican Bernie Moreno floats gutting “all” government investments for child care. More than half of Ohio’s child care funding comes from a federal program.

• The Washington Post: “Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno’s campaign is using an anti-recording device to prevent Democrats from recording him…”

• Mother Jones: “Moreno’s decision to muffle recordings with the gadget may have been prompted by criticism he’s received for leaked audio in which he discusses his thoughts about abortion: In late September, Moreno was recorded at an event saying that suburban women making abortion their top issue at the polls is ‘a little crazy by the way—especially for women that are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”

• Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: “That piece of tape of Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno saying a woman over 50 has no reason to support abortion rights because, you know, ‘she’s not making babies anymore. So why should we care what she thinks?’ That tape got Mr. Moreno a lot of negative press coverage… [Mr. Moreno’s campaign] can’t guarantee he’s not going to say stuff like that…”

• The Guardian: “The Republican candidate, auto salesperson Bernie Moreno, has claimed to have refused to sell a Chinese-made SUV. Spectrum News showed that Moreno did sell such vehicles.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK:

🎶 CODA: “[Bernie Moreno] is truly a fat cat and we don’t need him representing us in DC.”

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Columbus, OH – New reporting from WCMH yesterday highlighted that Bernie Moreno is “using audio jammers” that “emit an electronic sound that muffles and distorts any nearby audio recording” after WCMH first caught Moreno “mocking” Ohio women and calling them “a little crazy” for wanting to make their own health care decisions. WCMH notes that “while early in the campaign, Moreno encouraged people to record his rallies,” “the campaign is now using jammers” that keep Ohioans from recording his remarks or answers to questions he’s asked.  

This week, reporting from Mother Jones also caught Moreno in yet another lie, this time about using the anti-recording device on Ohio voters to “block people from recording his events,” despite Moreno falsely claiming that “the gadget was ‘only being used against trackers, rather than regular event attendees.’”  

WATCH MORE FROM WCMH HERE

Bernie Moreno: “A lot of suburban women that are like ‘listen, abortion is it. If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’ Ok, a little crazy, by the way. But, especially for women that are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, I don’t think that’s an issue for you.” 

Colleen Marshall, WCMH: “That video of Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno saying older women have no stake in abortion went viral after we were first to show it to you a few weeks ago, and new at 11, it is still resonating, because in video given to us by the Ohio Democratic Party, you will see Moreno’s team armed with a new electronic weapon that is apparently aimed at making sure nothing like that happens again. 

“…catching Bernie Moreno off guard just got tougher, because his team is using audio jammers… that black box emits an electronic sound that muffles and distorts any nearby audio recording. So while early in the campaign, Moreno encouraged people to record his rallies, a spokesperson admits the campaign is now using jammers.” 

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Columbus, OH – Ohioans know there’s nothing scarier than that fact Bernie Moreno only looks out for himself. From “stiffing workers” and “destroy[ing] evidence” to get out of paying his employees the wages they earned, to his comments mocking Ohio women for caring about the ability to make their own health care decisions, and supporting a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans who voted to protect abortion rights last year, Moreno has made it scary clear he won’t fight for Ohio.

Scary Things To Know About Bernie Moreno This Halloween:

🐈‍⬛BLACK CATS AND FAT CATS: Moreno’s campaign has been “clouded” by a “slew of lawsuits for workers’ wages and workplace discrimination,” including over a dozen lawsuits where Moreno refused to pay his workers the overtime they earned, and deliberately destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of it. 

🎃SPOOKY SUPPORT FOR BANNING ABORTION: Moreno called Ohioans “a little crazy” for caring about a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, said he is “100 percent pro-life with no exceptions,” and would vote for a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans. 

🍬ALL TRICKS NO TREAT: Moreno has been caught in lie after lie on the campaign trail and has faced scrutiny for the “string of inconsistencies that have dogged his campaign.” Moreno was caught repeatedly lying about selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision which contributed to “Ohio jobs being shipped overseas,” lying about his phony “rags-to-riches” story as the “signature pitch” of his campaign, and lying about “s[elling] off all of his businesses” while spending nearly $50 million to open a new car dealership. 

👻GHOSTING WORKING FOR OHIO: Moreno opposed the bipartisan bill to secure the border, opposed Sherrod’s bill to crack down on dangerous fentanyl, and said he won’t work across the aisle to fight for Ohio. 

🕴️BEHIND THE COSTUME: Moreno isn’t the self-made outsider he claims to be. Despite claiming he “built his car dealer empire all on his own,” Moreno actually received “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” and “leveraged his family connections” and the “Moreno Family cash reserves” to enrich himself. Moreno has exploited his insider political connections to boost his businesses and is “heavily invested” in and profited off of a family enrichment scheme with his brothers by funneling U.S. taxpayer money into banks that financed projects his family oversaw.

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Mother Jones: “The Republican Senate Candidate Often Invites Crowds To Tape His Remarks. But He’s Recently Deployed Technology That Distorts Recordings.”

Columbus, OH – Last week, Bernie Moreno got caught using an anti-recording device to prevent Ohioans from hearing what he has to say – and now, new reporting from Mother Jones has caught Moreno in yet another lie, this time about using the anti-recording device on Ohio voters to “block people from recording his events,” despite Moreno falsely claiming that “the gadget was ‘only being used against trackers, rather than regular event attendees.’”  

Moreno’s use of the device follows him “land[ing] himself in hot water” after he was caught “mocking” Ohio women and calling them “a little crazy” for wanting to make their own health care decisions. 

Read More:

Mother Jones: ​​Bernie Moreno Is Using Audio Jammers to Block People From Recording His Events
Abby Vesoulis
October 30, 2024

• “I have two rules,” Bernie Moreno, Ohio’s Republican candidate for US Senate, told a crowd at a Columbus-area event earlier this year. “Rule number one is you can videotape and tape record anything I say. What I say to you here is what I’ll say to the media, is what I say privately, is what I say to my own team… Rule number two,” he continued, “is please ask difficult questions.”

• Moreno, who rose to prominence as the owner of multiple luxury car dealerships, has made similar declarations at least half a dozen times on the 2024 campaign trail. But while Moreno brags about his dedication to transparency, his campaign also uses a machine at his events that renders voice recordings and videos taken by everyday voters inaudible as his race against incumbent three-term Senator Sherrod Brown narrows to a slim margin; the winner of this close race will help determine which political party controls the US Senate.

• The so-called “anti-recording devices” are available on Amazon for $399.99 and work by emitting white noise and ultrasonic waves that recording devices pick up but people present in person generally do not.

• Moreno’s decision to muffle recordings with the gadget may have been prompted by criticism he’s received for leaked audio in which he discusses his thoughts about abortion: In late September, Moreno was recorded at an event saying that suburban women making abortion their top issue at the polls is “a little crazy by the way—especially for women that are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”

• Business Insider first reported on October 25 that Moreno’s campaign was using the anti-recording tools to thwart political trackers, who are paid to trace candidates’ every move, from recording Moreno soundbites. The campaign told the publication that the gadget was “only being used against trackers, rather than regular event attendees.”

• Mother Jones, however, has learned from an Ohio voter that the device also distorted the audio she tried to record at a mid-October event hosted by Moreno in Ottawa County, Ohio… Instead, the recordings the woman took ended up sounding something like launching an internet dial-up connection or tuning a decades-old radio.

• Mother Jones has verified this voter does not work for any political campaigns.

• After the Business Insider account published, a conservative political strategist whose firm, Big Dog Strategies, has worked with Moreno’s campaign went so far as to share the Amazon listing: “For all our friends asking, here’s the link.” A spokesperson for the Moreno campaign did not respond to specific questions sent by Mother Jones.

• The Spy Associates-brand product listing confirms its audio-jamming device is effective in preventing anyone within a wide radius—not just political staffers—from recording: “Our ultrasound anti-recording speech protector, with its advanced noise and ultrasonic waves,” the description says, “ensures unauthorized recordings within a range of +/- 6.5-33 feet and a 270-degree interference angle are rendered indecipherable.”

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American Journal: “Republican Bernie Moreno Floats Gutting ‘All’ Government Investments For Child Care. More Than Half Of Ohio’s Child Care Funding Comes From A Federal Program.”

Columbus, OH – New reporting from American Journal today revealed that Bernie Moreno said he “would support cutting all federal funding for child care” even though “more than half of Ohio’s child care funding” comes from federal sources. As Ohio working families are facing a childcare crisis, Moreno told an Ohio mother he “[doesn’t] support” funding to increase access to childcare. 

The latest reporting follows a recent lawsuit Moreno faced for telling a woman who worked for him to “put your kids in f***ing daycare” after “she asked about flexibility in her work schedule.”

American Journal: Republican Bernie Moreno floats gutting “all” government investments for child care. More than half of Ohio’s child care funding comes from a federal program.
Jesse Valentine
October 30, 2024

• Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno said he would support cutting all federal funding for child care in the United States.

• On Oct. 14, Moreno held a town hall event in Steubenville, OH. An attendee, who identified herself as an Ohio mother, asked Moreno if he would support investments in child care that would enable parents to return to work and thrive economically.

• “I think the federal government needs to do a lot less…” [​​Moreno said.]

• The attendee asked Moreno to clarify if he opposed government investments in child care.

• “What I’m saying is that I don’t support the federal government coming in and trying to solve every problem,” he said.

• More than half of Ohio’s child care funding comes from Child Care Development Block Grant, a federal program. Despite this, a Family Voices Project Report found that nearly 60% of Ohio families said child care was still too expensive. Eliminating these grants would likely make the situation worse.

• A Policy Matters report found that 39% of Ohioans live in a child care desert, where services are either too expensive or nonexistent. This is especially true in rural areas.

• Brown, by contrast, has supported increased federal funding for child care. In 2021, he authored the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, which sought to help child care providers expand and upgrade their services. Republicans opposed the bill.

• In 2023, Brown introduced the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act, which would provide federal funds to help child care providers operate in rural areas, particularly farm communities.

• A Moreno campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

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