Who is Larry Householder ? what is the statehouse bribery case. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, other top Republicans call on Speaker Larry Householder to resign
Who is Larry Householder
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder’s role in a racketeering plot hinged on his election to the top spot in the state’s House of Representatives, according to a federal complaint released on Thursday.
Householder, who previously served as House speaker from 2001 to 2004, represents House District 72, southeast of Columbus. He, along with four associates, face charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering. That could mean a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine if he’s convicted.
This isn’t the first federal investigation to cloud Householder’s political career. The FBI investigated allegations of kickbacks and other issues in 2004 during his first term as speaker, but Householder never faced charges as a result of the investigation.
The most recent investigation outlined in federal documents unsealed Tuesday alleges that Householder represented a political solution to FirstEnergy’s financial problems. Investigators outlined in the 82-page complaint and affidavit that Householder’s relationship with the midwestern energy giant was something of an exchange: Householder would get FirstEnergy its bailout of nuclear power plants and it would finance Householder’s election as Speaker of the House, according to the complaint.
The ensuing scheme would involve $60 million in payments from First Energy to Generation Now, a nonprofit federal investigators said was controlled by Householder. Those payments were made from March 2017 through March 2020.
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See a full list of payments at the bottom of this post.
Lobbyist Matthew Borges, also charged and arrested Tuesday, described Householder’s deal with FirstEnergy as an “unholy alliance,” the court documents say.
FirstEnergy channeled money into 501(c)(4) Generation Now, which was first redirected to fund Householder’s election to the House and his bid for speaker, the complaint says. Householder faced incumbent Republican Speaker Ryan Smith in the election, and won 52 to 45.
Householder is not listed as creator of the nonprofit, but text messages and recorded conversations included in the criminal complaint associate Householder with Generation Now, with lobbyist Neil Clark suggesting that anyone who made out checks to Generation Now should hand them to Householder personally, as it’s “his C4.”
About $215,000 was also wired out of Generation Now’s account to settle a personal lawsuit against Householder, according to the complaint. Money was also used to pay more than $100,000 in expenses related to Householder’s Florida home, the complaint says.
After FirstEnergy money helped secure election wins for candidates that would support Householder’s bid for the speakership, the speaker used his political power to drum up support for HB6, a bill that would bail out two of FirstEnergy’s nuclear power plants, and to orchestrate the defeat the ensuing petition for a referendum.
According to the complaint, Householder directly influenced members of the General Assembly, then helped coordinate positive media for those who supported his goals. The day after he was elected speaker, he pledged to create a standing subcommittee on energy generation, according to the complaint.
In a text exchange, Householder asked if the team, using money channeled from Generation Now, was running positive ads for a representative.
“Got to protect the troops — especially make sure they believe we are protecting them,” he said, according to the complaint.
The vote on HB6 did not come easily, drawing controversy and media attention. Large payments came from FirstEnergy to Generation Now during the process: $9.4 million while the bill was passing in the House, $7.35 million in the Senate.
Money was then also used in combatting a campaign to send a referendum to reconsider the bill to Ohio voters. A legal appeal for more time to gather signatures for the measure was dropped in January.
Payment list from FirstEnergy to Generation Now:
| Date | Direct | Pass Through | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 16, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| May 17, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| August 10, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| December 8, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| March 15, 2018 | $300,000 | Wired | |
| May 4, 2018 | $100,000 | Wired | |
| August 16, 2018 | $500,000 | Wired | |
| October 16, 2018 | $400,000 | Check | |
| October 29, 2018 | $100,000 | Check | |
| April 30, 2019 | $1,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 7, 2019 | $1,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 15, 2019 | $2,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 22, 2019 | $2,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 29, 2019 | $1,500,000 | Wired | |
| June 5, 2019 | $2,000,000 | Wired | |
| June 13, 2019 | $1,361,899 | Wired | |
| June 20, 2019 | $2,116,899 | Wired | |
| July 5, 2019 | $1,879,457 | Wired | |
| August 2, 2019 | $734,250 | Wired | |
| August 7, 2019 | $4,390,000 | Wired | |
| August 22, 2019 | $653,000 | Wired | |
| August 29, 2019 | $2,003,000 | Wired | |
| September 5, 2019 | $2,403,000 | Wired | |
| September 12, 2019 | $2,403,000 | Wired | |
| September 19, 2019 | $4,695,000 | Wired | |
| September 26, 2019 | $2,445,000 | Wired | |
| October 3, 2019 | $4,160,000 | Wired | |
| October 8, 2019 | $1,600,000 | Wired | |
| October 10, 2019 | $10,000,000 | Wired | |
| October 17, 2019 | $248,000 | Wired | |
| October 22, 2019 | $3,000,000 | Wired | |
| October 22, 2019 | $4,331 | Check | |
| March 3, 2020 | $2,000,000 | Wired | |
| Total | $44,092,505 | $15,904,331 | |
| Grand total | $59,996,836 |
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, other top Republicans call on Speaker Larry Householder to resign
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on fellow Republican Speaker Larry Householder to resign after the top lawmaker was accused of running a $60 million bribery case.
“Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives; therefore, I am calling on Speaker Householder to resign immediately,” DeWine said in a statement. “This is a sad day for Ohio.”
Householder is accused of collecting millions through a dark money group to help elect him to lead the Ohio House of Representatives and later pass a bill to benefit two nuclear plants in northern Ohio.
DeWine was not alone in calling for Householder’s resignation:
Ohio Republican Party leader Jane Timken
“I’m calling on Larry Householder to step down as the speaker of the House and to resign as a legislator,” Ohio Republican Party leader Jane Timken said in a video statement.
Timken called on the other Republicans charged, including former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, to stop lobbying and step away from the political process.
Timken said she learned from Householder’s rise to the speakership that he did things “his own way.”
“He will now face his own reckoning,” Timken said.
Senate President Larry Obhof
Senate President Larry Obhof, who has often not seen eye-to-eye with Householder on legislation, said the House speaker should step down. Obhof said the allegations are very detailed, serious and troubling.
“The seriousness and gravity of the allegations cast a dark shadow over the People’s House. It is clear that he cannot continue to lead the Ohio House of Representatives. He should resign.”
House Republican leaders
Members of Householder’s leadership team, including Green Township Rep. Bill Seitz, said they were shocked by the allegations but did not call on him to resign.
“We were shocked to learn of the charges filed today against Speaker Householder. The Ohio House of Representatives remains open, and the members and staff are continuing their work to serve the people of Ohio. We are reviewing the allegations. To our knowledge, no other member of the Ohio General Assembly is under investigation in connection with these allegations. We have not been in contact with Speaker Householder today. Due to the pending investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
Minority Leader Emilia Sykes
Top House Democrat Emilia Sykes, of Akron, echoed DeWine’s call for Householder to step down.
“This is a sad day for Ohio,” Sykes said in a statement. ” As Ohioans are grappling with a public health and economic crisis like we haven’t seen in generations, this is an unnecessary distraction from the very important business facing our citizens. Because of this, we demand the immediate resignation of Larry Householder as speaker of the House and implore our Republican colleagues to announce a new leader for this body as soon as possible.”
Sykes was installed as the House Minority Leader as part of a political upheaval when Householder ousted former House Speaker Ryan Smith. Democrats, including Sykes, supported Householder’s bid, which was supported by unions.
Frank LaRose
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, also a Republican, was the first to say publicly that Householder should not continue in the role.
“There is important work for the state legislature to do on behalf of the people of Ohio. That work can’t get done with the Speaker under arrest in an ongoing federal investigation,” LaRose tweeted. “@HouseholderOH, do the right thing for the people of our state and resign today.”
Dave Yost
Later, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said “Householder is unfit to wield the Speaker’s gavel.”
