COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine plans to comply with a subpoena he received in a civil case connected to the largest bribery scheme in state history, he said Wednesday.
"We're gonna have to look at exactly what the language is, what they're asking for and then we will move from there and get that out as quickly as we can," DeWine said.
RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted subpoenaed in civil suit over bailout scandal
Plaintiffs in a civil suit related to a massive bribery and money-laundering scandal have subpoenaed documents from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and they’re scheduling a sworn deposition with Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.
Former Ohio House Speaker and now-convicted felon Larry Householder served Ohio for a decade as a lawmaker; now he’s going to be serving for twice that long — as an inmate in federal prison.
Householder was sentenced by federal judge Timothy Black in United States District Court in Cincinnati in late June, over three months after he and ex-GOP chair Matt Borges were found guilty by a federal jury for participating in the largest public corruption case in state history. Householder passed a nearly $61 million scheme for a billion-dollar bailout, House Bill 6, at the expense of taxpayers.
While being peppered with questions Wednesday afternoon, DeWine was asked if it was possible he could be named as a defendant; Attorney General Dave Yost jumped in and told him not to speak anymore.
"The bottom line is, anybody can sue for anything with a sheet of paper and $150," Yost said. "This is America; that's the way it works.
"Your question, it doesn't have any basis in fact — so I don't think that's an appropriate thing for us to talk about."
After the AG included himself, another question was asked about his own investigation into the H.B. 6 scandal, asking if he was considering deposing DeWine.
Yost paused and then said, "I'm not to that point."
DeWine ReWind
Weeks before the largest corruption scandal in state history was heard in federal court, DeWine answered questions from WCPO sister station WEWS.
“Have you been subpoenaed by the feds for the FirstEnergy bribery scandal and if you haven’t, are you anticipating?” Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau asked DeWine on Jan. 5, 2023.
DeWine answered with a simple "no."
Back to the Future
The governor hasn't been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors, but he was subpoenaed in a civil case connected to the bribery scheme.
"At least at the moment, [DeWine and Husted] are not targets of a criminal investigation," Case Western Reserve University law professor Mike Benza said.
DeWine and Husted are not defendants in this case, nor are they being accused of a crime.
The governor was only subpoenaed for documents, asking for all communication between him and FirstEnergy and a slew of others allegedly connected to the scandal. This includes Sam Randazzo. FirstEnergy already admitted to bribing him with a $4.3 million payment right before DeWine appointed him as chair of the Public Utilities Commission.
"In this type of a case, the shareholders bring a lawsuit because the shares have been diminished because of the illegal activity," Benza said.
The investors are suing for being negatively impacted financially by the scandal.
In an interview, the governor’s spokesperson Dan Tierney emphasized that there are no allegations against DeWine and that getting subpoenaed is “run of the mill” for this office since they get requests from media, citizens and lawyers all the time.
However, in documents, Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones texted former VP Michael Dowling, saying, “Forced DeWine/Husted to perform battlefield triage,” to help them with their scheme.
While the governor was only subpoenaed for documents, his second in command — Husted — has been deposed. He will need to go on the stand in the next few months and give sworn testimony about what he knows about the scandal.
"The lawyers think he has some information," Benza explained.
In a statement, Husted's press secretary Hayley Carducci acknowledged the two subpoenas.
"The Lt. Governor has already provided public records pertaining to this, and we will continue to comply as we have done in the past," Carducci said. "There’s no new information to disclose.”
In addition to FirstEnergy, defendants and Randazzo — each of the subpoenas for information ask for all documentation and communication related to Larry Householder's campaign for speaker, H.B. 6 and efforts to repeal the bill, term limits, the county prosecutor's campaign for Alice DeWine — the governor's daughter, former PUCO employee Jason Rafeld, and Dan McCarthy, a longtime politico who was scrutinized heavily due to his alleged involvement in the scandal.
Megan Fitzmartin, a former Householder aide who testified in the trial and is currently an executive staff member for House Speaker Jason Stephens, has also been deposed. She, like Husted, is not accused of any wrongdoing.
"Worst case scenario, this ends up implicating every elected official in Columbus — to some degree or another — being involved in this bribery scandal," Benza said.
Marty Schladen contributed to this report.
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