John, I know this is a long email — but that’s because I need to tell you all about the biggest scandal involving a dark money group since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder received millions of dollars from an Ohio energy company through a dark money group that operated as his slush fund.

In exchange for the money, Householder and other legislators passed House Bill 6, a bailout for energy companies that slashed the amount of renewable power utilities were required to buy, eliminated energy efficiency measures, and provided more than a billion dollars to utilities that owned nuclear and coal power plants in the state.

It was a classic pay-to-play scheme, and it relied on dark money groups. Read all about why dark money groups are the perfect vehicle for bribery in our new analysis of the Householder conviction →

CREW was investigating the dark money group at the center of the Larry Householder scandal before the indictment. We uncovered that Householder’s dark money group concealed its illegal activity in part by avoiding filing its tax returns with the IRS for months.

CREW also sent a letter to the Justice Department and the FBI that drew the first public attention to a dark money group called Citizens for a Working America — specifically, to the group’s funding of a super PAC that spent to boost Householder as he was seeking to become Speaker of the Ohio House.

During Householder’s trial, the government introduced evidence showing that $400,000 from the company that admitted to bribing Householder was funneled to the super PAC through Citizens for a Working America and another nonprofit.

Secret backroom deals between corporations and politicians and their dark money allies have been tolerated for far too long — and the American people have paid the price. That’s why we took action to hold Householder and his associates accountable.

The fact that the vast majority of money backing Householder through a super PAC was first funneled through a non-disclosing entity was a huge red flag.

In this case, where there was smoke, there was an inferno, and Householder was convicted by a jury just a few weeks ago.

That was a real win for accountability. It also signals that the Department of Justice is taking this kind of abuse seriously.

CREW is a key part of fighting for accountability. If you support our work, please consider making a generous donation today →

Thanks,

Noah Bookbinder
President
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington