One Week Later, DeWine Administration Still Silent on HB 6 Records Requests
January 31, 2022
For Immediate Release:
Monday, January 31, 2022
Columbus, OH — One week after Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters called on Mike DeWine to tell Ohio voters what he knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in state history, questions about the scandal remain unanswered. Last week, the Ohio Democratic Party announced the submission and resubmission of several public records requests to get to the bottom of the scandal. Those requests remain unanswered.
If the DeWine administration continues to stall and refuses to answer questions Ohio voters deserve to know, the Ohio Democratic Party is prepared to take legal action.
“One week later, and still crickets from Mike DeWine and his administration. DeWine’s lack of response raises even more questions about what he’s trying to hide and why, questions we plan to get to the bottom of on behalf of Ohio voters,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
Since October, the party has been working on getting answers to who knew what and when about the HB 6 bribery scandal, but has been stonewalled at every turn by the DeWine administration, leaving public records requests unanswered for over one hundred days.
Public records requests recently submitted by the party include:
- Any communications among Mike DeWine, Jon Husted, their staffs and special interest groups tied to the HB 6 scandal.
- Any communications between those individuals and individuals who are implicated in the scandal.
- Any communications involving Sam Randazzo’s appointment to the Public Utilities Commission.
- Any communications between DeWine/Husted and statewide officeholders regarding HB 6.
- The demotion of Laurel Dawson & the resignation of Dan McCarthy.
The party also resubmitted previous public records requests that include: a visitor’s log from the governor’s office and the governor’s mansion; any vetting of Sam Randazzo; and communications between Mike DeWine’s staff and FirstEnergy.
The party will provide updates to the media and Ohio voters as the process plays out and as we continue to demand accountability from people in power.
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