“Bernie Moreno is a hypocrite who cannot be trusted to take on corruption,” said End Citizens United Spokesperson Grace Silva. “He talked a big game about holding corrupt politicians accountable, but when it comes down to it, he’s all too happy to accept their support and their money. There’s no doubt that Moreno will sell out Ohioans just as quickly if he wins in November.”
Ohio Capital Journal: Moreno blasted rivals over scandal. Now he’s welcoming a big player’s support
Marty Schladen
06/13/24
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During the GOP U.S. Senate primary, Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno went after his opponents over their connections to the biggest bribery and money-laundering scandal in Ohio history.
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But now he’s welcoming the support of a man who brokered what was perhaps the key relationship in a scheme in which Akron-based FirstEnergy paid $61 million to purchase a $1.3 billion bailout that fell on the backs of ratepayers — which is to say everyday Ohioans.
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The supporter, Cleveland businessman Tony George, invited a now-convicted lawmaker to travel on FirstEnergy’s private jet to Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural, and booked the lawmaker and FirstEnergy executives into the same hotel for days of events during which federal prosecutors say the conspiracy began. George was still communicating with the central players in 2020, when the FBI started making arrests.
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When asked to comment on the seeming hypocrisy, Moreno’s campaign didn’t respond directly.
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Moreno was once a harsh Trump critic, calling him a “lunatic” and a “maniac.” But as with Ohio Sen. — and vice-presidential hopeful — J.D. Vance, Moreno got into politics and turned into an ardent supporter of Trump, who is now a convicted felon.
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Moreno might have experienced a similar conversion when it comes to 2019’s corrupt bailout law, House Bill 6.
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“I was against HB 6,” Moreno said. “These guys weren’t. They’re going to have to answer for their involvement in that scandal to a different audience than the one that’s here tonight.”
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But as for Moreno’s problems with figures who were involved in the bailout scandal, they appear to extend only to his political opponents — not his supporters.
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On May 16, his campaign held a Bourbon With Bernie fundraiser in Mentor. Cleveland businessman Tony George was a host, a privilege for which George paid $2,500.
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In addition to being a Moreno supporter, George has had a long and lucrative relationship with FirstEnergy. Entities linked to George received nearly $11 million from FirstEnergy over the years, according to a state audit.
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But George’s role was substantial enough that he was called “Individual B” in FirstEnergy’s deferred prosecution agreement — a document in which the utility copped to its culpability for the bribery scandal, along with paying out $230 million. It lays out Individual B’s close relationship with FirstEnergy’s top executive and to Householder from the fall of 2016, when Householder was plotting his return to the House and then to regain the speaker’s gavel.
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Before the feds brought the hammer down, Jones, George and Householder were plotting to change the Ohio Constitution so Householder could continue as speaker for another 16 years. That would have allowed them to continue to increase electricity rates and use the resulting dark money to dominate Ohio government in ways not calculated to benefit ratepayers, or the public at large.
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The Moreno campaign this week declined to answer questions about these matters on the record.
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It was asked whether Moreno was aware of George’s involvement in the HB 6 affair when Moreno accepted George’s support. It was also asked if Moreno would return George’s money and decline support in the future.
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Communications Director Reagan McCarthy responded by asking in an email, “When is Sherrod Brown going to return the donations made to his campaign over the years including when FirstEnergy admitted it was bribing public officials?”
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In fact, Brown donated the $21,000 he’d received from FirstEnergy over the years to Ohio food banks within 10 days of Householder’s 2020 arrest, according to Federal Election Commission records provided by the Brown campaign.
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“While Bernie continues to actively fundraise with key players of the FirstEnergy bribery scandal, days after the FirstEnergy scandal was revealed, the Friends of Sherrod Brown campaign donated FirstEnergy contributions to local food banks across the state,” a spokesperson said in an email.
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