Democrats want investigation into DeWine, Husted
(The Center Square) – Ohio Democratic lawmakers want the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted after news reports questioned the administration’s actions after the House Bill 6 scandal came to light.
At a Thursday news conference, House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said the suggestion is that the administration did nothing when possibly criminal activity came to light.
Russo based her comments on recent news reports and Attorney General Dave Yost’s recent announcement of indictments of former Public Utilities of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo and two former FirstEnergy executives on nearly 30 state felony charges.
“Recent reports seem to suggest an administrative culture that willingly ignored potential criminal activity within the administration itself, or within proximity to it,” Russo and Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker. “Though the AG’s efforts are laudable, we believe the office does not possess the capacity to detach itself from the political realities of Ohio’s control of state government. The latest news reports highlight additional issues within government that only your office in its objective position and resources could investigate.”
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney did not return an email request for comment by the time of publication.
Both Russo and Antonio expressed frustration over the administration’s failure to endorse and the Republican-majority General Assembly’s failure to pass legislation to repeal House Bill 6 completely.
“As elected officials, we have a duty to act in the best interest of Ohioans, and that includes enacting legislation to reestablish integrity in our Legislature,” Antonio said. “The Republican-led Legislature failed Ohioans when House Bill 6 was passed and the Republican majority continues to fail Ohioans by not taking action to fully repeal House Bill 6, protect Ohio consumers and end the corruption tax.”
The billion-dollar bailout of the state’s nuclear energy companies led to the removal of former House Speaker Larry Householder, who was convicted of federal racketeering charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
