Gov. DeWine's top lobbyist once led dark money group accused of wiring contributions in Ohio bribery

[TexasTowelie]

Gov. DeWine's top lobbyist once led dark money group accused of wiring contributions in Ohio bribery scheme


COLUMBUS – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s legislative director was previously president of a dark money group accused of funneling money from FirstEnergy Corp. to Speaker Larry Householder’s efforts to gain control of the Ohio House, according to an Enquirer investigation.

Dan McCarthy, who now leads DeWine’s legislative efforts, was previously a lobbyist for Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp., which had been asking lawmakers for a financial boost to save its nuclear plants in northern Ohio since 2016.

Between 2017 and late 2018, McCarthy was also president of Partners for Progress Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that engaged in “advocacy in support of nuclear power and the power generation in general,” according to the nonprofit’s tax forms. Such groups are called "dark money" groups because they don't have to disclose their donors.

An 81-page federal complaint released Tuesday in connection with the arrests of Householder and four others details allegations of how FirstEnergy Corp., listed as “Company A,” used an “Energy Pass-Through” to funnel millions to Householder’s dark money group Generation Now.

Read more: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/07/23/gov-dewines-top-lobbyist-once-led-dark-money-group-accused-wiring-contributions-ohio-bribery-scheme/5492477002/