Welcome to the Labyrinth: the Basics of Ohio’s H.B. 6 Dark Money Trial

The racketeering trial for former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges on the passage of H.B. 6, the $1 billion nuclear energy and coal plant bailout law in Ohio, should be a top story statewide and nationwide for the next few weeks.

H.B. 6 is a complicated case that includes dark money, conspiracy, bribes, black ops and even the suicide of one of the defendants.

Here’s a simplified outline of the published facts so far:

This is the statehouse that dark money built.

This is the Speaker who headed the statehouse that dark money built.

This is H.B. 6, the billion-dollar nuclear bailout tax the Speaker pushed who headed the statehouse that dark money built.

This is FirstEnergy which paid $60 million in dark money to pass H.B. 6, the billion-dollar nuclear bailout tax the Speaker pushed who headed the statehouse that dark money built.

This is the black ops ad campaign formed to wreck a citizen referendum fighting H.B. 6 that FirstEnergy also bankrolled as part of the $60 million in dark money used to pass H.B. 6, the billion-dollar nuclear bailout tax the Speaker pushed who headed the statehouse that dark money built.

This is Sam Randazzo, who is not on trial, who headed the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and took $4 M or more from FirstEnergy, which bankrolled the black ops ad campaign to wreck a citizen referendum fighting H.B. 6 with part of the $60 million in dark money used to pass H.B. 6, the billion-dollar nuclear bailout tax the Speaker pushed who headed the statehouse that dark money built.

This is Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who’s also not on trial, who met with FirstEnergy friends and appointed Sam Randazzo to head PUCO, who took $4 M or more from FirstEnergy, which bankrolled the black ops ad campaign to wreck a citizen referendum fighting H.B. 6 that FirstEnergy also bankrolled as part of the $60 million in dark money used to pass H.B. 6, the billion-dollar nuclear bailout tax the Speaker pushed who headed the statehouse that dark money built.                                                             

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Sources:

Dark Money

Speaker

H.B. 6.

FirstEnergy

Black ops ad campaign formed to wreck a citizen referendum fighting H.B. 6

Sam Randazzo

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine

Who met with FirstEnergy friends