House speaker calls on indicted predecessor to resign

摘要

The GOP speaker of the Ohio House yesterday called for his predecessor, a fellow Republican under federal indictment in a $60 million bribery scheme, to resign his seat and leave the General Assembly. Newly elected Speaker Bob Cupp called Rep. Larry Householder's return to the Statehouse following his July 21 arrest "offensive" to members of the chamber and said it "brought disrepute upon the House." Cupp's request was the latest in a series of unprecedented legislative events since Householder and four others were accused last month of shepherding energy company money for personal and political use as part of an effort to pass the legislation, then kill an attempt to repeat it at the ballot. Adding to yesterday's drama, Republicans in the majority abruptly shut down the House voting session rather than allow Democrats to force a vote on repealing the law that created the power plant bailout.