COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Elections Commission has no immediate plans to take up a case filed by state officials challenging former House Speaker Larry Householder’s decision to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees to lawyers overseeing his criminal defense on federal corruption charges.
The Elections Commission will hold its next monthly meeting on Dec. 17, but may wait to hold a preliminary hearing on the issue until January or later, said Phil Richter, the election commission’s director. But the commission may wait until Householder’s case is over before taking it up, he said.
That’s because Householder’s lawyers, responding to other complaints related to the corruption allegations, previously have declined to respond while the criminal case is ongoing, he said.
“Even if I did send notice, all I’d get back is a ‘We’re taking the Fifth. We’re not making any comment on this.’ I wouldn’t have a whole lot of evidence or a whole lot to work with,” Richter said.
“I appreciate the commission has said you can’t use campaign funds for criminal [defense] reasons,” Richter added. “You guys get to write the stories that say this is what they did, but we need evidence to establish that to be the case. We can’t assume that per se without some sort of evidence. So, I’m leery of going forward before we’d be able to get some sort of response from [Householder] to establish that.”
Campaign finance records show that Householder has paid $920,000 from his campaign fund to two law firms defending him in federal court against federal corruption charges. The money came from donors who likely meant to help Ohio House Republicans retain their majority in the state legislatures, since Householder oversaw fundraising for the entire GOP caucus.
The Ohio Elections Commission, which interprets election law in Ohio, repeatedly has found that spending campaign money on a candidate’s criminal defense is illegal under state law. It could refer the case for prosecution once it completes its review.
Converting campaign funds for personal use is a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio, punishable with up to six months and jail and a $1,000 fine. The OEC also could impose a $10,000 fine if it makes a referral to prosecutors.
Attorney General Dave Yost and Secretary of State Frank LaRose both have filed elections complaints, with Yost saying he was exploring his legal options to recover the money from Householder. But he said the first step is sending the matter to the elections commission. LaRose, meanwhile, has called Householder’s use of the campaign money to fund his criminal defense a flagrant disregard of state law.
Householder attorney Mark Marein didn’t respond to a message seeking comment for this story.
The FBI in July arrested Householder and four others involved in the passage of House Bill 6, which will send $1 billion to two nuclear plants formerly owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary through new charges on Ohioans' electricity bills. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege FirstEnergy and its affiliates bribed Householder with $61 million that in part was spent on political groups that first helped Householder gain his legislative leadership position. In exchange, Householder helped push through HB6, prosecutors said.
Householder lost his leadership position following his arrest, but remains in the state legislature, and was re-elected in November. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. But Jeff Longstreth, his former top political aide, and Juan Cespedes, a lobbyist working for the former FirstEnergy subsidiary that now owns the two nuclear plants HB6 funded, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges last month.
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