The former Ohio speaker of the House was expelled from the state legislature Wednesday over his indictment in an alleged bribery scheme involving two nuclear power plants.
State Rep. Larry Householder (R) was removed from the Ohio legislature in a 75-21 vote Wednesday afternoon. Householder, speaking on the state House floor, argued that his expulsion was “not the proper way” to handle the allegations against him and that an impeachment trial would be more appropriate.
“These accusations are accusations,” Householder said. “I intend fully to defend myself, and I intend fully to be acquitted.”
Householder denied allegations of his involvement in a $61 million money laundering scandal that took place from 2017 to 2020. The alleged scheme was designed to help pass a state bill providing financial protection to the struggling Davis Besse and Perry nuclear power plants in Ohio. Householder was indicted in the scandal in July.
Householder did not respond to a request for comment via a campaign email address by deadline Thursday for RadWaste Monitor. The former speaker’s profile and contact information on the state House website is no longer available as of Thursday morning.
The Ohio Republican Party didn’t return a request for comment by deadline Thursday for RadWaste Monitor.
Nobody from FirstEnergy, the utility company that owned the two power plants at the time, had been charged in the bribery investigation at deadline. However, a federal judge raised “grave concerns” about the motivations behind the company’s separate suit against a whistleblower who said FirstEnergy may have violated federal law in the scope of its 2019 financial audit. The judge said that FirstEnergy’s suit could be construed as an obstruction of justice in the Householder investigation.
