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Columbus, OH – New reporting from the Ohio Capital Journal uncovered that Bernie Moreno is being backed by a special-interest-funded group that pushed for the closure of the Chillicothe VA. Local veterans and Ohioans who worked to save the VA are calling out Moreno’s “inexcusable” coordination with the group, calling it “absolutely disgraceful and disgusting to veterans in rural America.”

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Ohio Capital Journal: Koch-funded veterans group that backed closing Chillicothe VA working to elect Bernie Moreno
Nick Evans
September 9, 2024

• In June of that year, members of the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee refused to approve nominees to implement the AIR Commission report, effectively killing the idea [of closing the Chillicothe VA]. Many of them cited the impact on services in rural areas of the country.

• But one veterans’ group was furious about it.

• “To say this is disappointing is an understatement,” Concerned Veterans for America’s Darin Selnick said in a press release.

• In Ohio’s current U.S. Senate race, Concerned Veterans for America Action has endorsed Republican Bernie Moreno, and Moreno’s campaign is coordinating door knocking efforts with the group.

• To the people who rallied to save Chillicothe’s VA hospital, Moreno partnering with the organization is a slap in the face.

• Whatever appeal he makes, Jessica Fee sees Moreno working with Concerned Veterans for America as inexcusable.

• “I find it absolutely disgraceful and disgusting to veterans in rural America,” she said.

• Fee works as an organizer with American Federal Government Employees, the union representing employees at the Chillicothe VA. She argued without a VA hospital in Chillicothe, some veterans would go without care. Shifting patients to private providers will only burden a rural health care system struggling to keep up and the drive to other facilities is long and potentially daunting for elderly patients or family members, she said.

• As for Concerned Veterans for America joining forces with Moreno, [reserve Army officer Lisa Parker] argued they don’t understand rural America.

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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.”

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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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