Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder appeals conviction in state's $60 million bribery scandal

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The former Ohio House leader sentenced to 20 years in prison for overseeing the largest bribery scandal in state history has asked a federal appeals court to toss his conviction.

Attorneys for ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder argued in an appeal filed Monday that a series of errors, ranging from jury instructions to inadmissible testimony, unduly prejudiced the jury against Householder and violated his rights as a criminal defendant. Householder also claimed in his appeal that the judge presiding over the case should have recused himself because Householder raised campaign funds for the judge's electoral opponent more than two decades ago.

The former elected official, a Republican from Perry Country, was convicted nearly a year ago of conspiring with executives at Akron-based FirstEnergy to pass a $1.3 billion, ratepayer-funded energy plant bailout bill in exchange for $60 million in bribes. He and co-conspirator Matthew Borges, former chairman of the Republican party, were sentenced last summer after a seven-week trial.

Over more than 100 pages, Householder urged the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate his conviction and order a new trial. His attorneys wrote that the prosecution used Householder as a "scapegoat for what it viewed to be a corrupt piece of legislation."

Householder's appeal makes six main claims:

• The judge improperly dismissed a juror for refusing to take a COVID-19 test or wear a mask without consulting Householder's attorneys
• The jury was not given proper instructions on findings necessary to prove a racketeering case
• The evidence did not show that Householder engaged in a quid-pro-quo bribery scheme
• Testimony from the government's cooperating witnesses about their own guilty pleas in the bribery scheme should not have been allowed in court
• The maximum sentence was unreasonable and amounted to the judge's "abuse of discretion"
• The judge should have recused himself for the appearance of impropriety

The $60 million in bribes was mostly funneled through a campaign funding group called Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) organization not required to disclose its donors. The appeal contends that the evidence the state provided did not show bribery, but rather showcased how Householder "participated lawfully in contributions to dark-money groups."

"The government relied on speculations, inferences, and generalizations to win a conviction. But those are insufficient to sustain one," the appeal reads.

Householder's attorneys further argue the judge, Timothy Black, gave Householder an overly harsh sentence of 20 years in prison. He also should have recused himself, they contend, because Householder raised money for Black's opponent for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2000 and 2002.

Borges has appealed his own five-year conviction in the case on similar procedural grounds. Householder's appeal comes about two weeks after two former FirstEnergy executives and the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio were indicted on state corruption charges related to the bribery scheme. Meanwhile, most provisions of the law whose passage the scheme secured, House Bill 6, remain in effect, costing ratepayers more than $100,000 each day.

Householder's attorneys have demanded oral arguments. The prosecution will have the opportunity to respond to the appeal.

Read the full appeal below.