>>10034599 RPST FOR BAKER NOTABLES INCASE MISSED
FBI Arrests Ohio House Speaker, Former GOP Chairman in Alleged $60M Bribery Scheme
After an FBI raid this morning at the farm owned by Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, federal officials arrested Householder and several other prominent Ohio Republicans, including Matt Borges, former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.
U.S. Attorney David DeVillers confirmed Householder’s arrest but refused to discuss the case. A press conference has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. to announce the charges. A spokesperson for DeVillers described the case to reporters as a “public corruption racketeering conspiracy involving $60 million.”
The 84-page FBI complaint remains under seal ahead of planned federal court appearances in Cincinnati this afternoon.
A source told PJ Media that the case is connected to House Bill 6, a controversial energy bill that bailed out nuclear and coal-powered plants while reducing green energy mandates, which Householder, a Republican, shepherded through the Ohio House.
In addition to Householder and Borges, several others were arrested: lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes, and Jeffrey Longstreth, an advisor to Householder.
H.B. 6, which was signed into law in late 2019, levied fees on the bills of Ohio electricity customers. The money, $150 million annually, was then to be redistributed to the struggling Davis-Bessie and Perry nuclear power plants and a pair of coal-burning power plants—one located in Indiana—owned by Ohio Valley Electric Corp.
First Energy Solutions, owner of the nuclear plants, filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, blaming the availability of cheap natural gas for its financial woes. The company spent $2.7 million that year on PR and lobbying firms hoping to get a bailout from the state.
As H.B. 6 made its way through the legislature, proponents and opponents of the measure mounted major public relations campaigns, sinking millions into ads. Cleveland.com:
Generation Now, the dark-money group that spent $1 million on helping Householder get elected as House speaker, as of Thursday had bought or reserved $4.6 million worth of pro-HB 6 radio and TV ads that have run across the state — according to FCC records compiled by an ad-tracking firm in Ohio. The ads were placed by The Strategy Group, a prominent Columbus political consulting firm that supported Householder’s leadership bid.
The group also has spent between $12,000 and $60,000 promoting the ads on Facebook.
The ads encourage viewers to call their state representatives and encourage them to support the “Ohio Clean Air Program.” One ad ominously warns of “Washington lobbyists, big money and dark deals” that are “working to stop the Ohio Clean Air program” so they can create an energy monopoly for Big Oil.
Groups opposing HB6, including those funded by the oil and natural gas industry, have their own ads, and have spent around $540,000 on them.
It’s long past time for the corruption to be rooted out of the Ohio statehouse once and for all—and for an infusion of new blood in the House.
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/paula-bolyard/2020/07/21/breaking-fbi-arrests-ohio-house-speaker-former-gop-chairman-in-alleged-60m-bribery-scheme-n667528