Positive COVID test leads to another delay
The trial of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and exohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges once again came to a halt after a juror tested positive for COVID-19.
The trial was canceled for Tuesday. It’s not yet clear whether it will resume this week. This is the second time the Ohio corruption case has been put on hold because of a case of COVID-19. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black sent jurors home with COVID-19 tests with instructions to take them before Tuesday morning.
Attorneys for Householder and Borges were about to question the FBI agent who has accused the two of participating in a state corruption scheme.
Householder and Borges are accused of engaging in a pay-to-play scheme to help Householder win control of the Ohio House of Representatives, to pass a $1.3 billion bailout for nuclear plants and defend the law against a ballot initiative to block it. Both Householder and Borges have pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
FBI Special Agent Blane Wetzel testified for several days, detailing how money flowed from Akron-based Firstenergy through dark money groups to ad campaigns, pollsters and even repairs on Householder’s Florida home.
On Monday, jurors heard Fbi-recorded conversations between Borges and GOP operative Tyler Fehrman. Borges gave Fehrman a $15,000 check that federal prosecutors say was in exchange for insider information about the ballot campaign to block House Bill 6.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter said late Monday that she is nearly done with her questions for Wetzel. Householder and Borges’ lawyers will then have a chance to cross-examine.
The next witness is Anna Lippincott, who worked as a fundraiser and communications expert for JPL & Associates. Following Lippincott on the stand will be former Firstenergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes, who signed a guilty plea in October 2020.
Cespedes played a key role in connecting Firstenergy Solutions executives with politicos and wiring money for Firstenergy Solutions’ goals.
Householder wants AFL-CIO boss to testify
Householder’s team subpoenaed Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga to testify as a defense witness but Burga moved to quash that.
Householder’s attorneys want to ask Burga why he authorized a $175,000 contribution from the labor organization to Generation Now in April 2018 and detail how the AFL-CIO spent $1.4 million it received from Generation Now in 2019.
Householder argued in court filings that Burga knew in 2018 that Generation Now supported Householder − a fact that would undercut the government’s argument that that relationship was purposefully concealed.
USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau reporters Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff have been following the House Bill 6 scandal since the story broke. They will continue to follow developments and the trial. Follow them on Twitter at @lbischoff and @jbalmert for updates.