Sen. Portman on President Obama’s Decision to Appoint Director of Unaccountable New Agency

Release:

Washington, D.C. - U.S Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) today issued the following statement on President Obama's recess appointment of Rich Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB):

"Despite promising to change the tone in Washington, President Obama has again opted for a dramatic partisan overreach, instead of working together to make this powerful new regulator more accountable to the American people. The President responded to legitimate concerns about potential abuse of this new regulator’s powers by abusing his own appointment power in an unprecedented fashion. This appears to be the first time in history that any president -- Democrat or Republican -- has installed the head of a major federal agency using a recess appointment over just a three-day adjournment.

"The irony is that while this recess appointment may advance the White House’s political goals, it does nothing to advance the work of the CFPB. The statute creating the CFPB makes clear that only Senate confirmation of a Director – not a recess appointment – can activate the new powers of this agency to regulate consumer transactions with Main Street businesses.

"As I have said many times, this is not about Rich Cordray, who I believe is a good public servant. Long before he was nominated to be CFPB Director, I expressed my strong concerns about the impact this new regulator would have on all of us as consumers, on job creation, and on our economy, and recommended some commonsense reforms. No other federal regulator has so much authority over personal economic decisions, with so little responsibility to answer to the American people and their elected representatives. These concerns -- voiced by 44 Senators -- cannot be addressed if the White House continues to refuse to work together despite my and others' efforts to reach out to them to find a way forward."

Boehner: President Obama’s Unprecedented Power Grab is Bad for Jobs

Release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) issued the following statement after President Obama made an unprecedented recess appointment without Senate consent and without Congress being adjourned.

“This is an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab by President Obama that defies centuries of practice and the legal advice of his own Justice Department. The precedent that would be set by this cavalier action would have a devastating effect on the checks and balances that are enshrined in our constitution.

“This position had not been filled for one reason: the agency it heads is bad for jobs and bad for the economy. It’s clear the President would rather trample our system of separation of powers than work with Republicans to move the country forward. This action goes beyond the President’s authority, and I expect the courts will find the appointment to be illegitimate.”

NOTE: The U.S. Constitution stipulates that the House and Senate cannot adjourn for longer than three days without the consent of the other body – agreed to by a concurrent adjournment resolution. Neither chamber has passed an adjournment resolution, and instead have both been holding pro-forma sessions every three days. The House and Democratic-controlled Senate were in session yesterday, and will be again on Friday. In line with decades of congressional practices, the Department of Justice has found that Congress must be in recess more than three days before a President can make an intra-session recess appointment.

AG Cordray's Office on TSA Sexual Assault at Dayton International

I have received a response from the office of Attorney General Rich Cordray:

RE: Alleged Invasive Searches


Dear Mr. Hurley,


Thank you for contacting the Ohio Attorney General's Office regarding searches by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.

While there have been reports of searches that some regard as invasive, such matters would be entirely under federal authority, as airline travel and security is federally controlled. The TSA has a contact form that allows you to file an online complaint and provides many different categories for response, located at http://www.tsa.gov/contact/index.shtm.

Please be advised that the Office of the Attorney General is empowered to serve as legal counsel and advisor only to state officials, state agencies, county prosecutors, and the Ohio General Assembly. Our office has no authority to intervene in the matters referred to in your letter.

Again, thank you for contacting our office. I hope you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,


RICHARD CORDRAY

Ohio Attorney General

I guess the rule of law isn't something that the Attorney General's office cares about all that much...

Mike DeWine's Half Truth

I just read the PolitiFact piece on Mike DeWine's claim about the fundraising in the Attorney General's race and have to conclude that Mike managed to take a good talking point and twist it in to a "half-truth." Don't take my word for it, PolitiFact lays it all out for you.

Cordray is receiving 60% of his donations from the various party operations, Big Labor, and law firms doing business with Cordray's office. That's a pretty big story, but Mikey just had to go that one step further and instead of saying the "majority" he had to say "almost exclusively" and THAT is a HALF TRUTH.

The FULL TRUTH is plenty damaging enough on its own, why did Mikey feel compelled to stretch the truth? Because that's what he does to score political points. That, and I think he is trying to compensate for lagging behind. let's not forget, this is the candidate who claimed he could "self fund" "if necessary"...

Mikey wasted a valuable talking point.

More Politics As Usual

This has been bugging me all week and now that it has played out exactly as I knew it would, I figure I might as well get it out of my system by writing about it...

Political operatives think they are the smartest guys in any room, but when you get them in to a "war room" environment that arrogance gets ramped up big time. I don't know which political operative was responsible for this particular play, but it is one of the most tiresome "politics as usual" gambits in the book.

It goes like this: Something happens on the national stage. Office Holder A doesn't do or say anything about it right away. Candidate B's team decides to issue a "recommendation" to Office Holder A in which Candidate B takes the only logical position. When Office Holder A takes that same position, the Team Candidate B says, "Aha! Office Holder A took our advice! Candidate B is a good guy and deserves attention." It's what political operatives call a "win-win" because if the Office Holder doesn't do the right thing, Candidate B can make an even bigger issue out if it.

Mike DeWine "hit" Dick Cordray "hard" on the Nebraska exemption in the Government Take-Over Health Care bill and issued a "recommendation" that Cordray join a lawsuit on the matter. The statement made its rounds on Twitter and Facebook through all the usual suspects. There was much chest bumping and high-fiving when Cordray actually did his job and joined the suit.

That's right, sports fans, Team DeWine was thrilled that Dick Cordray did his job.

Is this still looking like a win-win?

More politics as usual from the guy that brought us Senator Sherrod Brown.....

UPDATE: Don't Blame Me, I Voted for PIERCE.

Ohio College Republicans on Cordray's Defense of Privacy Invaders

Release:

(COLUMBUS, OH) In a statement released today by the Ohio College Republicans, Chairman Jonathon Snyder called on Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to withdraw his taxpayer-funded defense of the three disgraced government employees involved in snooping on a private citizen for partisan political gain.

“We just want Attorney General Cordray to side with Ohioans and not just the Ohio Democratic Party.” said Ohio College Republican Chairman Jonathon Snyder.

“Our Attorney General has a choice in the matter, yet he is choosing to side with party over principle. In choosing to provide a taxpayer-funded defense of employees involved in grossly abusing government resources for partisan political gain, Richard Cordray is showing his true colors. Ohioans need an Attorney General who represents them, not the Ohio Democratic Party.”

Snyder noted that College Republicans from across the state are contacting the Attorney General's office this week to urge Cordray to make the right choice. He stated that, “We want to make sure our voice is heard on this, and we know many Ohioans agree with our view here. The bottom line is that there is an opportunity for Richard Cordray to make this right, and we want him to make the right choice for Ohio, not just the Democratic Party.”



The Ohio College Republican Federation (OCRF) is the statewide body of all College Republican chapters across Ohio, currently giving support and aid to over 45 chapters. The OCRF brings together nearly 10,000 members throughout Ohio and provides crucial grassroots support to Republican campaigns and organizations in Ohio, serving as the preeminent Republican youth organization in the state.

Culture of Corruption: Democrat Says "Time to Investigate Cordray"

I have to thank one of my many anonymous readers for this as I usually find David Esrati too much of a nut to read regularly, but he makes a rare serious point worthy of taking notice...

Esrati lays it all out, but Ohioans ought to ask why AG Richard Cordray is handing out casework to a guy with tax problems. Is he following the Barack Obama/Ted Strickland model?

Cordray has handed off a class action lawsuit to Montgomery County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman's husband Dennis (himself the former County Chairman of the Democratic Party). As we have covered previously, the Lieberman's have an unresolved problem with the IRS to the tune of $132,565.

ACLU of OH Says Sexting Should NOT Be a Crime

Before we get to this ridiculous quote from the ACLU of Ohio, we need to define what sexting is... Sexting is the word used to describe the act of kids sending other kids nude or semi-nude photos of themselves over cell phones. It has become something of a menace in our schools as of late and a Republican State Representative has proposed a bill clarifying the laws that these cases are currently being tried under.

In reply to our email, Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said, "I want to emphasize how serious sexting is. What the ACLU, and some of these students, do not seem to understand is that sending nude pictures of yourself as a teenager is something that can carry with you for the rest of your life. Our goal is to put an end to this now before many young people's lives are affected."

The legal director for the ACLU of Ohio doesn't seem to think that this is such a big deal. He is quoted in the Daily Record as saying:

"Children do foolish things, and the remedy for foolish things is not criminal action," [Jeffrey] Gamso said. "The remedy for what is going on, sexting, is not criminal prosecution. It is not delinquency prosecution. The remedy for this is education."

Hutzel doesn't entirely disagree. "I do agree with the ACLU that this is, in part, about education, and we are working with the schools to educate students about the dangers of sexting. However, in some cases that is not enough. Criminal prosecution will be used where education doesn't stop the problem." Hutzel said.

The bill that we are discussing was put forth by Warren County state representative Ron Maag. Maag has been quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer saying that the idea for the bill was brought to attention because under current law these kids were facing felonies if convicted.

“Local prosecutors have brought to my attention that under current Ohio law these teens could be charged with a felony and classified as sex offenders. There is concern that this may not be appropriate for these minors.”

Even Maag thinks that education is a part of the solution. From the same article:

“I think what these teens need is education about how this type of behavior could affect their lives,” Maag said in the statement. “This legislation does not affect the state’s ability to try actual sex offenders. What it does is clarify the law regarding incidences such as these.”

But is education alone enough to address the seriousness of sexting? You can put this blogger down on the side of "NO." Even Attorney General Richard Cordray understands the need to clarify these laws for this situation. Cordray is quoted in the Daily Record piece:

"Our laws right now are pitched against the adult sex offender," he said. "For young people who are sexting, maybe innocently, maybe not always innocently, the notion that they will be tried and convicted as adult sexual predators doesn't really seem to fit the bill.

An awful lot of smart people seem to think that education alone is not the answer. "I don't mind being on the other side of the ACLU," Hutzel said, "I have in the past and probably will be again in the future."

ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY:

Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost: "All criminal acts involve foolish decisions. The question is whether the act harms society -- and an electronic image is easily copied, easily disseminated and easily obtained by pedophiles."

Crites Questions Cordray's Use of State Office to Pursue Political Agenda

Release:

Columbus – Attorney General candidate Mike Crites today questioned his opponent Richard Cordray’s use of the State Treasurer’s office to pursue his own personal agenda while putting tax dollars at potential risk.

Crites was referring to a move by Cordray early in his administration as State Treasurer to have Ohioans write checks to “Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray” as opposed to “Ohio Treasurer of State” as had been the practice for decades.

“Richard Cordray has made expert use of his press office within the Treasurer’s office for shameless self-promotion, but making taxpayers write his name on their checks to the state – it’s the ultimate PR move,” Crites said.

The change drew sharp criticism from the media and was deemed by Cleveland ’s Plain Dealer to be “both transparently political and in questionable taste.” The paper editorialized on the matter twice, saying “on the self-promotional scale, this idea sails out of the stratosphere.”

Crites rejected Cordray’s argument that the move made transactions with the state feel more personal for taxpayers, noting that he has not met a single Ohio taxpayer who feels better about writing a check to the state because they’ve written “Richard Cordray” on the check.

Crites previously took Cordray to task for dedicating nearly 20 percent of his staff and payroll budget to public relations, and for issuing a disproportionately large number of press releases for what Cordray himself referred to the smallest of all statewide offices.

“In the wake of the Marc Dann scandals, the Ohio Attorney General’s office needs a leader who will put the office, the state, and most importantly, taxpayers first,” Crites said. “Because my only political ambition is to serve as Attorney General, that won’t be a problem for me. Richard Cordray has shown us that he isn’t afraid of blatant political maneuvers if they propel him to higher office.”

The whole Make the check out to Dick scheme irritated me greatly.

Cordray Admits He's No Expert on Law Enforcement

Release:

Columbus – In a surprising development in the race to be Ohio ’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General candidate Richard Cordray admitted he is unqualified to hold that post.

Cordray told an audience of Attorney General employees on Monday that he was not up to speed on the Attorney General’s use of law enforcement computer systems and further said, “I don’t claim to be an expert in law enforcement,” according to the Columbus Dispatch.

“Richard Cordray likes to boast about a close relationship with and endorsements from law enforcement, yet now admits he is unqualified in the area of law enforcement,” Republican candidate Mike Crites said. “This sounds a lot like disgraced former Attorney General Marc Dann, who also admitted he was unqualified to serve as Attorney General. The only difference is that this time, voters can do something about it.”
A significant portion of the Attorney General’s office is dedicated to assisting local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of crime. The office also organizes or participates in law enforcement task forces across the state and holds a major annual training conference for Ohio law enforcement.

Dann admitted upon his resignation that he was unqualified to lead the state’s top law enforcement office. Dann had never been a prosecutor and had never managed an office the size of the Attorney General’s office – two vital qualifications for Attorney General that Richard Cordray also lacks.

Crites, on the other hand, has more than two decades of law enforcement experience. A career prosecutor, he has served at the local, state, and federal levels and has more prosecuting experience than the last seven Attorneys General combined.

Crites was appointed in 1986 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, a position he held until 1993. In this role he was responsible for all federal law enforcement in 48 of 88 Ohio counties. He is the only candidate in the race who has prosecuted financial crimes, drug crimes, organized crime, white collar crime and public corruption.

Crites is also a decorated U.S. Navy Captain, Crites was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. At the peak of his Navy career he helped manage 7,300 personnel.

“Ohio simply can’t afford to elect another Attorney General who is not prepared to lead the office,” Crites said. “I am the only candidate who has all the experience necessary to lead the office from day one.”

Emphasis added because that's the real message that voters need to hear about this race...

VIDEO: "Running Rich"

Uhh...

I got nothing for this...

Really...I'm actually speechless...

Maybe I should just run the release...

Columbus – The Crites for Attorney General campaign today issued its final ad of the campaign, a parody of one of the most widely viewed viral videos in Internet history. The new web ad, titled “Running Rich” follows professional politician Richard Cordray as he runs for eight offices in 18 years.

“Running Rich” takes its lead from the popular “Dancing Matt” videos (www.wherethehellismatt.com) which show the main character Matt dancing in different locations throughout the world and which have been seen by more than 11 million viewers online, according to figures on YouTube.

The “Running Rich” spot features Richard Cordray (portrayed by an actor) as he dances his way across Ohio during his eight runs for office over the last 18 years.

“Clearly this new spot is intended to be light-hearted, but the message is quite serious,” Crites Campaign Manager Dan Baker said. “Richard Cordray is simply another professional politician who hops from office to office on his way up the political ladder.”

Baker noted that Cordray had only served approximately 17 months of his four-year term as State Treasurer before throwing his hat into the ring for Attorney General – an office he ran for once before in 1998.

The video’s final frame shows Cordray dancing in front of Wachovia Bank. Cordray, as state treasurer, received a $10,000 contribution from the stepdaughter of a state contractor with Wachovia and subsequently increased Wachovia’s business by 3,700 percent. The donation is alleged to be illegal – the funds having actually come from the girls’ mother. If this proves true, Cordray could be forced to forfeit the office of Attorney General should he be elected in November. The matter is currently pending before the Ohio Elections Commission.

“In the wake of scandal created by disgraced former Attorney General Marc Dann, the last thing Ohio needs is an Attorney General who is more focused on his next political step than he is on running the office,” Baker said.

Ohio State Bar Assoc. Rips Cordray

You probably won't hear much about this, but the Ohio State Bar Association told Richard Cordray to knock of his antics against Republican Mike Crites yesterday.

OSBA President Gary J. Leppla:

Once again the Ohio State Bar Association is compelled to speak out. A candidate for statewide office, an attorney himself, is denigrating an opponent, a fellow attorney, for doing his sworn duty as an officer of the court. This sort of attack is unacceptable.

Yesterday, Ohio Attorney General candidates Richard Cordray and Mike Crites participated in a televised debate. During the debate, candidate Cordray criticized Mr. Crites for representing a state employee who pleaded guilty in 2000 to embezzling $10,000 in public money. Mr. Cordray’s statement contains the suggestion that Mr. Crites did something wrong by representing his client. Nothing could be further from the truth. Attorneys are duty-bound to see that a client’s right to representation in our American legal system is preserved. An attack on an attorney serving clients is an attack upon our American system of justice. This form of political attack is inappropriate.

The citizens of Ohio should not be misled by political attacks on lawyers who carry out their professional duties. Most Americans understand that lawyers are often called upon to take on unpopular causes, to defend those charged even with heinous crimes, to protect the rights of those who would destroy our democracy and to see that justice is available to every defendant. Lawyers have an ethical obligation to provide representation to clients even when they know the cause is unpopular or community reaction might be adverse, and most of our citizens understand and respect that commitment.

In making determinations with regard to what is fair or an unjust criticism of a lawyer, we must keep in mind that, in a democratic society, citizens have a right to make reasonable and fair criticism of public officials, including those running for office. However, they do not have a right to unfairly impugn the integrity of an opponent for exercising his or her professional duties. In our view, Mr. Cordray’s comments go beyond fair criticism.

Our candidate for Attorney General, Mike Crites had this to say about the matter:

“Richard Cordray and Marc Dann now have one more thing in common – they’ve both been reprimanded for unprofessional behavior.

“Marc Dann was reprimanded by the Ohio Supreme Court for unethical conduct, and today Richard Cordray has been scolded by the Ohio State Bar Association for unprofessional conduct in his quest to be the state’s top lawyer. Ohioans deserve better from their next Attorney General.”

Does Ohio really want another Marc Dann in the Attorney General's office?

Crites for AG Radio Ads Hit the Airwaves

Release:

Columbus – A new radio ad hits the airwaves today in the race for Ohio Attorney General. The ad, announced by Republican candidate Mike Crites, outlines factual similarities between opponent Richard Cordray and disgraced former Attorney General Marc Dann.

“Richard Cordray is more like Marc Dann than he’d care to admit,” Crites’ Campaign Manager Dan Baker said. “Neither prosecuted a single case. Both rewarded donors with state contracts. These are facts that Ohio voters, who had to endure 16 months of incompetence and corruption from Marc Dann, should be aware of before casting their vote in this important race.”

Marc Dann was shown to have steered Attorney General fleet purchases to campaign contributors. Richard Cordray, as state treasurer, received a $10,000 contribution from the stepdaughter of a state contractor with Wachovia and subsequently increased Wachovia’s business by 3,700 percent. Compounding the unseemly situation is the fact that the donation is alleged to be illegal – the funds having actually come from the girls’ mother. If this proves true, Cordray could be forced to forfeit the office of Attorney General should he be elected in November.

The spot begins airing today statewide. Crites has been aggressively campaigning to spread his message of leadership and integrity. In addition to today’s radio ad, Crites has been traveling the state, garnering news coverage nearly every day, and started a statewide TV campaign.

Recent polling shows Crites has been rapidly gaining on Cordray and is within striking distance.

Voters can listen to the new radio ad online at http://critesforohio.com/articles/25.

BREAKING: Crites Files Elections Complaint Against Cordray for Potential Illegal Contributions

Release:

Columbus – Mike Crites, Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General, today filed an Ohio Elections Commission complaint against his opponent Richard Cordray for potential illegal campaign contributions to the Cordray campaign committee.

“At best, the revelations of the past week present a strong appearance of impropriety,” Crites said. “At worst, Richard Cordray has violated the law in his quest to be the state’s top lawyer. Either way, Ohioans deserve better from their next Attorney General.”

Filed by Crites himself, the complaint names as respondents Richard Cordray; Cordray’s campaign committee: Montford Will, a bond trader doing business with the State Treasurer’s office; Lindsey Kuty, stepdaughter of Montford Will; and Jane Doe as the unidentified mother of Kuty.

The complaint alleges that Richard Cordray and his campaign committee knowingly accepted an illegal $10,000 contribution from Kuty when, according to Will, the funds had actually been provided by Kuty’s mother. Shortly after the donation in January 2007, Will’s firm, Wachovia Securities, saw its share of the state’s bond trading business through the Treasurer’s office increase by more than 3,700 percent.

Donating money in someone else’s name is illegal under Ohio campaign finance law. The penalty for knowingly accepting such a contribution is forfeiture of the nomination or office and a fine of up to $10,000.

On October 5, a news article in the Dayton Daily News exposed the alleged illegal contribution. Not long after that donation, Will’s firm – Wachovia Securities – went from doing less than one percent of the Treasurer’s bond trading business to 37.5 percent. When asked if the $10,000 donation – the maximum allowable by law – actually came from his 23-year-old stepdaughter or from him, Will stated on the record that the money “came from her mother.”

Crites noted that this is not the first questionable donation in Richard Cordray’s campaign war chest. In August, Cordray refused to return $20,000 in campaign contributions from Jimmy Dimora and Frank Russo, two Cuyahoga County officials at the center of a massive federal investigation into public corruption.

“If the evidence uncovered by the news media proves to be true, then Richard Cordray is guilty of the same ‘pay to play’ and ‘culture of corruption’ that Marc Dann campaigned against and then practiced while in office,” Crites said. “It’s entirely possible that Richard Cordray could win the election and forfeit the office.”

Here is a copy of the complaint:

Crites Complaint vs. Cordray - Upload a Document to Scribd

Cordray's Pattern of Pay-to-Play

Richard Cordray might be saying that restoring confidence in the Attorney General's office is a priority, but it isn't likely to happen under his watch. You see, Cordray has a history and a record...

Okay, we all know about the pay-to-play with Monty Will (which we covered here and here; DDN covered here and here), but there are some other interesting connections between Cordray and donors, as well as, Cordray and people doing business with the state.

I have heard rumor that Cordray’s fundraiser is strong-arming people who have special counsel contracts. There are maximums that lawyers can give if they want to keep the contracts, so the Cordray team is “making” those folks go out and “bundle” certain amounts of money to keep the work. What have we learned about bundling previously? Well, Norman Hsu was a Clinton bundler who got in trouble, and Tony Rezko was another bundler… Not exactly a good way of doing business besides the basic fact that -- particularly in this case -- it’s pure, unadulterated pay-to-play (something else that Ohio Democrats are all to familiar with...).

However, here is another interesting connection... Cordray’s campaign consultant was named Don Spicer. Spicer hasn't been a registered lobbyist since 2004 and suddenly saw where his bread was buttered after ’06 and got back into lobbying. That isn’t necessarily a problem as lot’s of people are in the business. But, when you sign up to be a lobbyist, the form you fill out asks what departments you will lobby. Anyone with scruples and/or a sense of ethics would probably say they won’t lobby people they helped win office –- that’s a conflict of interest -- and it’s probably best to be avoided. Let me be clear –- it is allowed under the law -- but it doesn’t pass the smell test. Spicer marked every single department, including Treasurer and Secretary of State after he had just consulted on Brunner’s and Cordray’s campaigns.

Visit: http://www.jlec-olig.state.oh.us/

You can search by clicking “lobbyist forms” on the bottom right and search for the last name Spicer and then Don Spicer.

All the forms are there… and note a couple things:

He’s got a couple clients that could directly impact the Treasurer's office: one that does information technology (Maximus) and one that does collections and other financial services (United Collection Bureau). (Side note for the locals: He also had the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati as a client...)

It would be interesting to see what, if any, work those firms have gotten with the Treasurer's office since Spicer started lobbying. It would also be interesting to know what, if any, meetings Cordray has taken with Spicer since they were campaign buddies. If there are any enterprising intrepid reporters out there in the 527 Media in this state who run in to Cordray, you might be inclined to ask him a few question on the subject...

I think there might be a pattern emerging about how Cordray does business. We've already covered one angle (Will), and now this Spicer connection very well could lead to another that exposes the way Cordray operates. Basically: I smell a rat.

Crites to File Action Against Cordray with Ohio Elections Commission

Release:

Crites to file action against Cordray with Ohio Elections Commission for alleged illegal campaign contributions

Donor on record saying Cordray donation was funneled through second party


Columbus – Revelations of potential illegal campaign contributions to Richard Cordray’s campaign committee have prompted legal action before the Ohio Elections Commission (OEC). The OEC complaint was announced today by Republican candidate for Attorney General Mike Crites.

“These developments are enormously troubling in any political race, but particularly in a race for Attorney General, the state’s top law officer,” Crites said. “Voters expect their Attorney General to obey both the letter and the spirit of the law.”

Crites said the action would be filed within the next few days and that he will ask for an expedited hearing and we will seek to take the sworn depositions of everyone involved, including Mr. Cordray himself.

The Dayton Daily News uncovered alleged violations of law involving campaign contributions to Richard Cordray’s campaign. According to the paper, Cordray received a $10,000 contribution from Lindsey Kuty, the 25-year-old daughter of Montford Will (a bond trader doing business with the State Treasurer’s office), less than two weeks after taking office as State Treasurer.

Will is a long time political activist in Ohio . According to the Dayton Daily News, Will and his wife Min Cha Lee have contributed more than $650,000 to political candidates, the majority Democrats.

Not long after that donation, Will’s firm – Wachovia Securities – went from doing less than one percent of the Treasurer’s bond trading business to 37.5 percent – a more than 3,700 percent increase.

When asked if the money actually came from his stepdaughter or from him, Will stated on the record that the money “came from her mother.”

The revelation uncovered two potential violations of Ohio campaign finance law.

First, the law prohibits giving campaign contributions in someone else’s name. Tom Noe, former fund manager with the state Bureau of Workers Compensation and political contributor, was sentenced to more than two years in prison for doing just that.

Second, state contractors and their spouses can contribute a combined total of no more than $2,000 in any 24-month period.

The potential penalty for violating election law in this way is forfeiture of the ability to take office, should the candidate win the election.

Cordray is uniquely familiar with the penalty for this kind of violation. Ten years ago this month, in his first race for Attorney General, he falsely suggested that Betty Montgomery ’s campaign improperly funneled money to the campaign of another state candidate.

Although nothing came of his accusations, Cordray pointed out in news reports that penalty for being involved with funneled campaign contributions is forfeiture of the elected office.

Crites campaign says that Cordray’s response raises further suspicion about the contributions.

He claims there is no connection between the maximum contributions and the 3,700 percent increase in that firm’s business with the state, that he didn’t know Ms. Kuty and that he didn’t know anything about the contribution. Yet he immediately said he would give the money back.

Cordray went on to say that whenever he encounters a questionable donation “we step up and address it and return a contribution where we think there is any appearance question.”

Yet in August, Mr. Cordray refused to return $20,000 in campaign contributions from Jimmy Dimora and Frank Russo, two Cuyahoga County officials at the center of a massive federal investigation into public corruption.

Crites’ also expressed doubt that Cordray didn’t know who Ms. Kuty is prior to this weekend, noting how uncommon it is to have a 25-year-old give at the maximum level of $10,000. In addition, Cordray received nearly $20,000 between 2002 and 2004 from Mr. Will, his wife, his son, and his business partner in his race for Franklin County Treasurer.

“Richard Cordray’s actions simply don’t live up to his words,” Crites said. “After eight races in 18 years, his actions have become those of a professional politician: Tell the voters what they want to hear, then do whatever you want once you’re elected. If the evidence uncovered by the news media proves to be true, then Richard Cordray is guilty of the same ‘pay to play’ and ‘culture of corruption’ that Marc Dann campaigned against and then practiced while in office.

For more on this story, be sure to check out the Dayton Daily News story by clicking here and here.

WMD Blast

LINKS:

Ohio Senate - 20th District: Rick Shriver: Not Our Values

PolitickerOH: "Rudy blasts conservative doubters of Palin as 'jerks'" -- Yup.

The word missing from this PolitickerOH story on Driehaus' bloviating on jobs is "Strickland." Ohio Democrats -- like their national counterparts -- are incapable of accepting any responsibility whatsoever.

NEWS:

Mike Crites, Republican candidate for Attorney General, will announce a major legal action that will affect the race for Ohio Attorney General.

Crites was originally scheduled to unveil a new television ad at the 10 a.m. news conference, but changed the subject after major breaking news in the race this weekend involving potentially illegal contributions to opponent Richard Cordray.

The Dayton Daily News has the story here.

OPEN THREAD IN COMMENTS...

Crites Continues to Gain in Race for AG

Release:

Columbus – A new poll issued by Ohio NBC news affiliates shows that Republican candidate Mike Crites is rapidly closing the gap in the race for Ohio Attorney General. The poll shows Crites down by only eight points.

“Ohioans want an Attorney General with the leadership experience to repair the damage caused by Marc Dann and his enablers,” Crites said. “My record shows that I’m the only candidate with that kind of leadership experience.”

A Quinnipiac poll issued in mid-August had Crites trailing opponent Richard Cordray by 18 points. A September 15 poll (also commissioned by Ohio NBC news affiliates) showed down by 11 points. This latest poll has Crites down by only eight.

Mike Crites has been aggressively campaigning to get out his message of leadership and integrity. In the last two weeks, Crites has been traveling the state, garnering news coverage nearly every day, and also started a statewide TV campaign. His ads are running on TV in every major media market in Ohio (click here to watch the ad).

Crites said the poll numbers not only prove that Ohio voters are responding to his message but also demonstrate Cordray’s vulnerability. Crites is a 21-year career prosecutor and a newcomer to statewide elective politics. His opponent, current State Treasurer Richard Cordray, has run eight times for six different offices in the past 18 years, including three statewide offices.

Crites recalled a 1994 Gallup poll in which incumbent Democrat Attorney General Lee Fisher held a 17-point lead over Republican challenger Betty Montgomery in her first bid for statewide office. The poll was conducted just over a month before the election. Montgomery went on to win the race in a stunning upset.

“Voters won’t be fooled by a career politician,” Crites said. “Fundraising continues to be a top priority for us, but Betty Montgomery showed us you can be outspent by your opponent and still win,” Crites said.

Crites has a 21-year record of public service as a federal, state, and local prosecutor. He was appointed in 1986 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio by then-President Ronald Reagan, a position he held until 1993. In this role he was responsible for all federal law enforcement in 48 of 88 Ohio counties. A decorated U.S. Navy Captain, Crites was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. At the peak of his Navy career he helped manage 7,300 personnel.

CRITES APPLAUDS JUDGE'S DISMISSAL OF CHARTER SCHOOL LAWSUIT

Release:

Columbus – Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General Mike Crites [yesterday] applauded action by Judge Michael Tucker of Montgomery County , in which Judge Tucker dismissed a lawsuit filed by disgraced Attorney General Marc Dann against an Ohio charter school.

Earlier this month Crites called for the dismissal of all of cases former Attorney General Dann filed against several Ohio charter schools as a waste of taxpayer resources because they were based on flawed legal theory.

“I’m glad that someone with a reasonable understanding of Ohio charitable law was finally able to put a stop to this ridiculous stretching of the law,” Crites said. “It’s painfully clear that Marc Dann lacked a basic understanding of Ohio law. It appears my opponent, Richard Cordray, may share that same malady because when given the opportunity to call for the dismissal of these suits, he declined.”

The lawsuits were originally filed by Dann after a failed attempt by the governor to block new charter schools in Ohio . Press reports and public records showed that the dubious legal strategy – suing the schools under the state’s charitable trusts law on the basis that they failed to fulfill their charitable purpose – was suggested to Dann by an attorney representing the state’s largest teacher’s union.

As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, The Ohio Education Association (OEA) agreed to drop a lawsuit against the state for failing to close down charter schools once Dann promised he would aggressively pursue closure of charter schools. The OEA agreement, which saved the OEA the cost of their lawsuit and advanced Dann’s political agenda at the expense of taxpayer dollars, came just one day prior to Dann filing the first lawsuit.

Now that a court has spoken on the issue Crites again called for his opponent, Richard Cordray, to join him in opposing the continuation of this flawed legal theory. “Now that this challenge has been proven flawed I ask Richard Cordray to join me calling for the dismissal of all the lawsuits brought against Ohio charter schools, using the charitable trust laws. I believe this is a chance for Richard Cordray to show real leadership. It’s an opportunity to stand up to your party and to one of your biggest financial backers, the OEA, and say as Attorney General I will defend the laws of this state, not the special interests.”

Ohio AG: Cordray's PR Staff

Release:

Cordray’s PR staff consumes 20 percent of State Treasurer operating budget
31 of the offices’ nearly 150 employees make in excess of $1.8 million

Columbus – Nearly $2 million in taxpayer dollars are devoted each year to the public relations efforts of State Treasurer Richard Cordray. That represents nearly 20 percent of the office’s operating budget that’s being used to aggressively promote Cordray’s name while he runs for Attorney General.

According to public records, 31 of the 148 employees in the State Treasurer’s office – or 20.9 percent – are assigned to the Public Affairs (8), Community Outreach (13) and Community Education (10) departments. Together, these employees earn annual salaries totaling $1.8 million – nearly 20 percent of the Treasurer’s $9.3 million operating budget.

“If Richard Cordray is elected and applies the same lavish PR philosophy to the Attorney General’s office, we can expect to see roughly 300 state employees dedicated to public relations in that office,” Crites said. “This is a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars from someone who claims to be a guardian of the public treasury.”

Cordray is on record saying that the Treasurer’s office is the smallest statewide office, making it even more surprising that the office could afford to have such a large number of employees and fiscal resources committed to promotional efforts.

A previously-released analysis of the office’s more than 200 press releases since Cordray took office showed little in the way of new innovative programming but rather a slew of press releases publicizing the everyday work of the Treasurer’s office and promoting Cordray’s name at a time when public polls show he is unknown to most Ohioans.

Crites’ Campaign Manager Dan Baker recognized the need for elected officials to communicate with and educate the public on issues concerning their offices and services, but added that Cordray could likely achieve that for far less than $2 million a year.

“Clearly Richard Cordray places a high priority on getting his name in the press,” Baker said. “His decision to devote such a large percentage of his budget to public relations demonstrates a lack of concern for taxpayer dollars at a time when agencies across the state are enduring yet another round of budget cuts. Ohioans deserve an Attorney General who’s committed to doing his job, not one who’s using large amounts of public money to bolster his political career.”

“We fully expect that Cordray will claim that these public relations people are ‘educating consumers about financial issues,’ which of course is a valid government activity,” Baker continued. “Yet since every communication these employees produce and distribute prominently features the name ‘Richard Cordray,’ it’s easy to see the political benefit that Cordray is seeking to gain.”

“Providing valuable public information to Ohioans is a proper use of tax dollars, but not when it consumes 20 percent of the budget,” Crites concluded. “It’s ironic that at the same time Richard Cordray is advising Ohioans to carefully budget their own money, he is acting so recklessly with the tax dollars entrusted to him.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a follow-up piece on this.