Lawmakers respond to public corruption search warrant executed on Ohio House Republicans

State Reps. David Leland (D-Columbus) and Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) today issued the following statements in response to the release of a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena into allegations of Ohio House Republicans’ pay-to-play culture of corruption at the Statehouse:

“As this investigation into the Republican culture of corruption unravels at highest levels of power in the Ohio House, Republican House leadership is working overtime to distance themselves from their involvement while trying to paint Cliff Rosenberger as the sole actor in any illegal, pay-to-play schemes.

“Though Rosenberger was the first House speaker in history to resign amid a federal corruption investigation, his leadership team and former roommate, Speaker Ryan Smith, is still in control of the Ohio House and potentially illegal campaign funds, creating more questions than answers as to how deep this river of corruption runs at the Statehouse.”—Rep. David Leland

“Unfortunately we don’t have a clearer picture today of how deep the Republican culture of corruption and pay-to-play stems than we did when former Speaker Rosenberger resigned in April. However, we know by looking at their legislative priorities that this Republican leadership team has been putting special interests above Ohio’s future for a long time.” —Rep. Kristin Boggs