FirstEnergy had big stake in tainted nuclear plant bailout

CLEVELAND — "After its bailout-driven success, FirstEnergy’s fortunes took an unwelcome turn July 21.

That’s when federal authorities released a criminal complaint detailing how 'Company A' — a clear reference to FirstEnergy — spent $60 million to get a well-known Republican named Larry Householder selected as Ohio’s House speaker, finance his bailout passage efforts and prevent Ohioans from having their say about the legislation at the polls.

FirstEnergy’s stock price plummeted nearly 35% within two days and has yet to rebound. Independent board members have called for an internal investigation and shareholders have filed at least four potential class-action lawsuits alleging FirstEnergy’s executives committed fraud and concealed an 'illicit campaign' to secure the bailout."

— Mark Gillespie and John Seewar, Associated Press

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FirstEnergy, caught up in FBI investigation, used its ‘political might’ to pressure the Ohio Statehouse

Former Ohio House member Steve Arndt. (R-Port Clinton)

CLEVELAND – "Steve Arndt says he remembers the conversation clearly: A lobbyist for FirstEnergy Corp. told Arndt, then a member of the Ohio House, that he needed to sponsor a bill to help a FirstEnergy subsidiary.

The lobbyist, Arndt said, gave him an ultimatum: Put your name on the bill or your political future is over.

Arndt refused.

Later, he suffered through a negative campaign, fueled by what he believes was dark money, that hit his district of Ottawa and Erie counties with fliers and radio ads, attacking his record as a Republican legislator.

'They wield a very heavy hand,' Arndt said of Akron-based FirstEnergy and its affiliates. 'They have a lot of political might. [Former House Speaker] Larry Householder and FirstEnergy are of the same ilk. They’ll do whatever they have to to get the job done.'"

– John Caniglia, cleveland.com

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Ohio AG Yost considering lawsuit to halt nuclear plant surcharge

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Wednesday said he’s preparing to seek an injunction that would halt the imposition of a ratepayer surcharge flowing to two northern Ohio nuclear power plants at the center of the $61 million statehouse corruption scandal.

Mr. Yost, a Republican, indicated he’s considering moving ahead with a lawsuit as the Ohio Senate prepares to return to Columbus next week to discuss repealing or replacing the energy law, House Bill 6, at the heart of the scandal.

Pressuring lawmakers to act quickly on what will be a complex process, Mr. Yost said he could file a lawsuit as soon as September if the legislature doesn’t move swiftly to repeal the law. He declined to set a deadline or elaborate on what might trigger him to file, except to say he supports a repeal."

— Liz Szalka, Toledo Blade

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OH House leadership must release all documents!

Ohio House won’t give up some HB 6 documents, but co-sponsor OKs release to feds

"House officials were served with the federal subpoena July 20, the day before the arrests in what U.S. Attorney Dave DeVillers called the biggest public corruption case in Ohio history.

The withheld documents and emails, many of which involve proposed amendments and records requests involving correspondence with House lawyers, can remain secret because of attorney-client privilege, the House said.

Others were withheld due to an exception to state public records law that cloaks the dealings between lawmakers and the Legislative Service Commission, which writes legislation, in confidentiality.

A claim of privilege to withhold records under a federal subpoena can be asserted, but a judge ultimately will rule if the claim is legitimate or if the records must be produced, said a Department of Justice spokesman."

-- Randy Ludlow, Columbus Dispatch

How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering

RICHMOND, VA -- "In the 20th century, local and federal officials, usually white, enacted policies that reinforced racial segregation in cities and diverted investment away from minority neighborhoods in ways that created large disparities in the urban heat environment.

The consequences are being felt today.

...In the 1930s, the federal government created maps of hundreds of cities, rating the riskiness of different neighborhoods for real estate investment by grading them 'best,' 'still desirable,' 'declining' or “hazardous.” Race played a defining role: Black and immigrant neighborhoods were typically rated 'hazardous' and outlined in red, denoting a perilous place to lend money. For decades, people in redlined areas were denied access to federally backed mortgages and other credit, fueling a cycle of disinvestment."

--  Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich, New York Times

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Ohio Senate likely to repeal HB 6 before Election Day

COLUMBUS -- "'The Senate will be meeting in September, and we are likely to add additional session dates to the schedule. One of the issues we will be considering is a potential repeal of HB 6,' confirmed Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina.

Holding a session in September would show voters that the GOP-dominated legislature is taking action — just before early voting begins in early October — on the legislation at the heart of what federal authorities say is a $60 million racketeering scheme to return former House Speaker Larry Householder to power and to bail out Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.

It is unclear whether the House will take similar action."

-- Darrel Rowland, Columbus Dispatch

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Lawmakers conflicted over repealing law at heart of scandal

COLUMBUS — "Gov. Mike DeWine has called on lawmakers to swiftly act to undo House Bill 6. He signed the bill into law last year and still supports the policy behind it. But he argues that the $1 billion bailout has been tainted by the revelations detailed in a federal indictment of what allegedly went on behind the scenes to get HB 6 across the finish line.

...But the commissioners of Ottawa and Erie counties, where the two plants are located, called on lawmakers to leave the law in place. Together, they directly employ about 1,400 people.

'While we detest any alleged illegal or unethical activity before, during, or after the enactment of the legislation, we certainly believe the policy outcomes were of great benefit not only to our counties, but also to all Ohioans,' they said in a joint statement on Monday.

'If the former House speaker or ‘dark money’ contributors were coordinating illegal behind-the-scenes activities, they should be punished in accordance with federal and state laws,' they said.

Mr. DeWine wants lawmakers to openly debate and enact a replacement law."

-- Jim Provance, Toledo Blade

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PUCO ties to FirstEnergy

-- Curtis Jackson, Capitol Letter, cleveland.com

Grifters are part of Ohio history, but a reckoning may be coming

COLUMBUS -- "Given Householder’s indictment, House Republicans did what they had to do, politically – unseat Householder as speaker, and replace him with Lima Republican Robert R. Cupp, once an Ohio Supreme Court justice. That was on July 30.

Then last week, in a fairly rare but constitutionally authorized action, House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, of Akron, and House Democrats’ three other caucus leaders posted a protest in the House Journal over the passage of HB 6, albeit 385 days after the House sent it to DeWine. Still, the Democrats’ protest highlighted one of HB 6′s worst facets: It “effectively [nullifies] any incentive for new renewable energy development in [Ohio].” And it subsidizes – with consumers’ money – two coal-burning power plants (one in Indiana), whose owners include FirstEnergy and Columbus-based American Electric Power.

Yet the legislature recessed without repealing HB 6. Repeal is the first thing the House and state Senate should have done after the grand jury acted."

-- Thomas Suddes, cleveland.com

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Ohio House won’t cough up some HB 6 documents under federal subpoena

Rep. Jamie Callender received $12,700 in campaign contributions from FirstEnergy and was a sponsor of HB6.

COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio House has turned over thousands of pages of records concerning House Bill 6 under a federal subpoena, but withheld 30 documents — claiming they are exempt due to attorney-client and legislative privilege.

The House released some of the records Thursday in response to the subpoena and public-records requests from news organizations, but still is compiling more records for release to the U.S. Department of Justice.

...Many of the withheld records involve communications between House lawyers and Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Shane WIlkin, R-Hillsboro, and their aides. They were co-sponsors of HB 6.

In a tweet on Friday afternoon, Callender said he notified House officials that he waived privilege and to release the documents involving him. 'I waive those privileges and urge House leadership to help us give as much info as possible to the FBI and to the public,' he wrote."

-- Randy Ludlow, Columbus Dispatch

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