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Yost was Subpoenaed in Federal HB 6 Scandal Investigation
10.15.2020
FBI asked for AG’s internal communications – Yost must appoint special prosecutor
New documents received show that Attorney General Dave Yost and his office received a federal subpoena as a part of the HB6 investigation. The court order asks for both external and internal communications related to the petition campaign to repeal HB 6. This is not simply about gathering information about the HB6 repeal campaign: the FBI is also seeking information about how Yost’s office dealt with it.
The subpoena is available here.
Yost rejected the initial HB 6 repeal petition language. This cost the repeal campaign valuable time and ultimately helped to prevent them from gathering enough signatures. This delay with the language was a part of the lawsuit filed by the repeal campaign asking the Ohio Supreme Court for more time.
In addition to taking more than $78,000 from HB6-related interests, many of Yost’s former staffers, including Matt Borges and Carlo LoParo, played key roles in the shady campaign against the repeal. Was Yost coordinating with them?
“Attorney General Yost owes Ohioans answers. Did his office work with FirstEnergy, Republican Speaker Larry Householder, and Yost’s own former staffers to slow down the HB 6 repeal campaign?” asked ProgressOhio Managing Director Michael McGovern. “If federal investigators are scrutinizing Yost’s office, he cannot lead his own investigation of HB 6. Yost must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate this massive bribery scandal, as we have previously called for.”
The period covered by the FBI subpoena also includes the Fall of 2019 when Yost claimed to be investigating the illegal tactics of the anti-repeal campaign led by his former staffers. Is Yost’s failed investigation also a part of the FBI’s probe? Will it be part of Yost’s “investigation”?
This new development also raises the question of which other statewide officeholders received subpoenas. Who else was working behind the scenes with the individuals behind the largest scandal in Ohio history?
