A bombshell in Ohio, as the FBI arrested Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues on bribery charges connected with a $1 billion bailout for the state's nuclear industry.
"Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues were arrested by federal officials Tuesday as part of a bribery investigation involving the state’s $1 billion nuclear plant bailout and Householder’s maneuverings to secure support to lead the legislative chamber," report Marc Kovac, Randy Ludlow, and Rick Rouan.
The bailout was approved in the summer of 2019, but the legal controversy lingered until January 2020, when an effort to subject the bailout to a voter referendum failed in the Ohio Supreme Court. Now the controversy really gets ugly.
Householder, "is charged in the alleged racketeering conspiracy involving the funneling of energy company funds through Generation Now, a dark money group formed by a longtime associate, with some proceeds used to back the campaigns of legislative candidates supportive of Householder’s run for Speaker."
Four others arrested as part of the investigation: Matt Borges, the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and a lobbyist, Jeffrey Longstreth, a longtime campaign and political strategist for Householder, and Neil Clark, a lobbyist who owns Grant Street Consultants.
The FBI has been busy with corruption investigations in the past several months—all on schemes related to development. Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar was arrested in June, along with several city councilmembers in the city of Toledo, Ohio.
FULL STORY: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60 million bribery case
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