Leader Russo: HBO's "Ohio Confidential" Stark Reminder Nothing Has Been Done to Prevent Another Damaging Corruption Scandal

COLUMBUS – Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) today released the following statement concerning Tuesday’s premier of the HBO’s series “The Dark Money Game” and its documentary “Ohio Confidential” which details the House Bill 6 scandal, the largest political scandal in Ohio’s history:  

“The recent release of HBO’s ‘Ohio Confidential’ is a stark reminder of the greed, public corruption, and blatant disdain for the rule of law embraced by FirstEnergy, former House Speaker Larry Householder, and all those involved at the highest levels of state government and corporate leadership,” said Leader Russo. “The documentary serves as a chance for the public to truly understand many of the shocking and abhorrent details of this scandal. It will be equally disturbing to Ohioans to know that the Republican-controlled legislature has done absolutely nothing to prevent a scandal of this scale from happening again, despite numerous proposals by Democrats. Dark money and the lack of campaign finance and ethics reform remain easily exploitable by power-hungry politicians and special interests, and Ohioans are still paying for the cost of this culture of corruption. This documentary is a reminder that if we don’t act soon with meaningful reforms, corruption scandals will happen again, and Ohioans will once again pay the price for it.” 

Following former Republican House Speaker Householder’s racketeering arrest and conviction, House Democrats have introduced several pieces of legislation over multiple General Assemblies aimed at weeding out corruption, strengthening ethics, and ending the cost of corruption Ohioans are still paying for following the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio’s history. 

Ohio House and Senate Republicans and its supermajority have failed to advance any of these proposals to the governor to be signed into law or passed any reforms of its own.