Ohio Democrats Release More DeWine Records Connected to the FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal
August 31, 2022
Latest Round of Records Secured by ODP Raise Questions about Why DeWine Was Meeting with Lawyers, Crisis Communication Team Amid Bribery Scandal
Columbus, OH – Today, Ohio Democrats are releasing the latest round of public records secured from Mike DeWine as the party continues pushing for answers from DeWine on what he knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in state history. The latest records show that DeWine was often meeting with lawyers, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and a crisis communications team at major dates correlating with the GOP-led FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal that DeWine is increasingly linked to.
The records raise questions about why DeWine would feel the need to seek legal and crisis communications advice as the scandal unfolded, questions that are especially pressing as DeWine and Husted are confirmed to be “State Official 1” and “State Official 2” in federal court documents.
- Ohio Attorney General candidate Jeff Crossman and Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington are releasing these records on their websites to improve transparency and accountability around the scandal – in direct contrast to their Republican opponents who have done nothing to get answers.
“For months, Mike DeWine has been dodging accountability when it comes to his role in the largest public corruption scandal in state history, and these records only create more questions than answers. Consulting lawyers and a crisis communication team as the scandal unfolded doesn’t exactly scream innocence. It’s past time for DeWine to tell Ohioans what he knew and when and it’s time for him to come clean now,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
Earlier this year, the Ohio Democratic Party announced a lawsuit against DeWine and his office to get answers about what DeWine knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley has called on DeWine, Husted and their administration to release all private emails, text messages and other communications related to the FirstEnergy scandal.
Since October, Ohio Democrats have been working on getting answers to who knew what and when about the FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal – which Ohioans continue to pay $287,000 every single day for – but have been stonewalled at every turn by the DeWine administration, leaving public records requests unanswered for months. The lack of accountability from DeWine is leading Ohioans to wonder what he’s hiding and why.
See more below on DeWine’s legal and crisis communication meetings as the biggest public corruption scandal in state history was unfolding:
Friday September 27, 2019
- Legal Meeting with Matt & Sarah (pg. 2)
- NOTE: This occurred just days after federal officials secretly recorded Householder and Neil Clark at a dinner club meeting about the referendum.
Monday September 30, 2019
- Had a phone call with Yost but the reason for the call was redacted. The phone call was to Yost’s cell phone rather than through his office. (pg. 5)
Thursday July 2, 2020
- Call with Householder (pg. 19)
- NOTE: This was just weeks before Householder’s arrest
Monday July 6, 2020
- Two back-to-back meetings with legal. (pg. 20)
Tuesday July 21, 2020
- DeWine had a legal meeting on the day of Householder’s arrest. (pg. 28)
Friday July 31, 2020
- DeWine had a meeting with a risk communications team the week after Householder’s arrest. (pg. 34)
Friday September 11, 2020
- Almost the entire morning was redacted besides a morning briefing and 9/11 moment of silence. That afternoon DeWine had a legal call with the attorney general’s office. (PG. 59-60)
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