Prosecutor: Ohio Governor to Be Charged

[brooklynite]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. Bob Taft, under investigation for not reporting numerous golf outings as required by ethics law, will be charged with four misdemeanors, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Taft, a Republican and member of a distinguished U.S. political family, would be the first Ohio governor to be charged with a crime. If convicted, he could be fined $1,000 and sentenced to six months in jail on each count, though time behind bars was considered unlikely.

Taft will be charged later Wednesday, said City Prosecutor Stephen McIntosh, who declined to comment further pending an afternoon news conference.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050817/ap_on_re_us/governor_golf

[fooj]

1. Justice. Pure justice.

Peace.

[Justyce]

2. Too bad it's not for voting fraud. nt

[wishlist]

3. Too bad Ohio's constitution does not allow for recall or impeachment

Unless he does the right thing and resigns, he remains in office until 2007 and rest of state government is overwhelmingly Republican too.

[TahitiNut]

4. Elected (or appointed) public officials should be sentenced to the MAXIMUM

... as a matter of principle as well as law. The violation of public trust calls for it. If public officials, responsible for legislating and enforcing the public laws, cannot be trusted to comply with those laws, then leniency is totally misplaced. The maximum penalties under any laws MUST be levied against public officials as a matter of justice, equity, and principle.

If there're to be ANY "sentencing guidelines," let them begin with this guideline ... in BIG, BOLD print!

[bvar22]

10. I agree.

Our elected or appointed officials should be held to the highest standard! They actually commit TWO Crimes:

1) Whichever Criminal Statute they violated,

AND

2)Destroying and Abusing the PUBLIC TRUST. This may not be a statute, but it IS the more serious crime, and it is FEDERAL in the damage it does to our Nation and Democracy!

[TahitiNut]

13. Indeed... but even further...

... just who the hell is, for example, Bob Taft to enforce Ohio's laws when he can't FOLLOW THEM HIMSELF? As the senior law enforcement officer of the State of Ohio, should every offender he's caught be given a lesser penalty tham the Governor? In my view, if the elected official isn't given that maximum, then NOBODY deserves the maximum.

The abuse of public entitlement and the abuse of public trust calls for the maximum penalties under the laws. Nothing less is justice.

When they're charged the least and sentenced the least, it's nothing but corrupt cronyism and just can't be tolerated anymore.

Four counts at a maximum of 6 months each? Fine. That's two years in the slammer, Governor!

[bvar22]

14. This would be a good thread topic!

*

[sasquatch]

5. Bob Taft is getting the Shaft

:evilgrin:

[Maeve]

16. Turn about is fair play---Ohio has been getting the shaft for years!

He's a sub-par governor (no idea how good a golfer he is!)

[Swamp Rat]

6. Meanwhile, John Doe sits in jail for 5 years for some weed. n/t

[meganmonkey]

7. Well, I guess it's a start

But 4 misdemeanors just doesn't satisfy me

:shrug:

[underthedome]

8. Question now isn't if but when Taft steps down. nt

nt

[Bill McBlueState]

11. Who is next in line?

I'm assuming the Lieutenant Governor takes over in the event of a resignation? Has to be another Republican, but does anyone know who it is?

[UTUSN]

9. They Can Do This, But TX Can't Get DELAY n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

12. .

kick

[mod mom]

15. WOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Please let Noe and Blackwell follow! nt

[barbaraann]

17. Just yesterday he was trying to dumb down Ohio schools.

Taft: There's room for evolution criticism in class
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
Associated Press

COLUMBUS | Gov. Bob Taft said on Tuesday that while evolution should be taught in public schools he also supports providing students with theories critical of evolution.
...
http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0817taftevolve.html


I guess he couldn't dumb Ohioans down quickly enough to escape justice today.

[kevsand]

18. "the first Ohio governor to be charged with a crime"

Damn. What a bunch of lightweights. In Illinois, we've had something like five out of our last eight governors charged with crimes. And the other three probably aren't safe bets even now...

[brooklynite]

19. Taft charged with crimes in office (Update)

Gov. Bob Taft today became the first Ohio governor charged with a crime. The four misdemeanor counts stem from failing to report 52 gifts, including golf games, meals and professional sports tickets.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

[bufffbison]

20. Prosecutor: Ohio Governor Bob Taft to Be Charged and Sentenced

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/08/17/ap/headlines/d8c1pk9o0.txt

Prosecutor: Ohio Governor to Be Charged
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. Bob Taft, who pushed for high ethical standards in his office, will face four criminal misdemeanor charges for not reporting golf outings and other events paid for by others, deepening a scandal that has rocked Ohio's Republican Party.

Taft, a member of a distinguished U.S. political family, would be the first governor in Ohio history to be charged with a crime. If convicted, he could be fined $1,000 and sentenced to six months in jail on each count, though time behind bars was considered unlikely.

Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the charges relate to annual financial disclosure statements Taft filed from 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors said they had met with Taft's lawyer and expected the governor to appear in court Thursday.

Taft will respond publicly on Thursday and is not planning to resign, spokesman Mark Rickel said.

Investigators have looked for weeks at Taft's alleged violation of a law requiring officeholders to report all gifts worth more than $75 if the donor wasn't reimbursed.

O'Brien said Wednesday the outings that Taft failed to disclose included golf games and a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game.

Taft, 63 and nearing the end of his second term, would be the highest-ranking official to be charged in a ballooning scandal that began with revelations of problems with an unusual state investment in rare coins. His former chief of staff was convicted of an ethics violation in July.

The investment was handled by coin dealer Tom Noe, a top GOP donor. Noe has acknowledged that up to $13 million is missing from the fund, and Attorney General Jim Petro has accused him of stealing as much as $4 million.


HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!! WE NEED TO PUSH FOR THE JAIL TIME SENTENCE!

[IbeaBonehead]

21. Frog march his ass outta the mansion

[WI_DEM]

22. I hope he doesn't resign

and let the Lt. Gov. take over. Look what happened in Connecticut when Rowland resigned and was one of the most unpopular governors in the country--his Lt. Governor took over and is now one of the most popular governors in the country and had Rowland stayed in office, Dems probably would have picked up the governorship.

[newscott]

25. I see this like a Bush Impeachment scenario

Cheney wouldn't take over cause he's going down too. The same thing will happen in Ohio. I'm not sure there is any Republican high up the ladder that could touch that office now.

[connecticut yankee]

34. Rowland didn't resign willingly

he was about to be impeached. He fought it as long as he could, proclaiming his innocence, until the State GOP pretty much forced him out.

Jodi Rell is very popular, yes. She tends to be somewhat liberal, too. But the Dems are doing what they can to connect her with Rowland. She says she was totally unaware of what he was doing, but she was his sidekick for ten years.

What bugs me, is that he'll probably collect his pension after he gets out of prison.

[AValdoux]

23. He keeps his job???n/t

[bufffbison]

24. oops sorry.. dupe

i was so excited when i read it, i quickly posted it on here.... while the news is good, but we still need to push for the jail time.

[Lefty48197]

26. Ohio Republicans elected a corrupt President and a corrupt Governor

way to go nuts. You have a perfect record.

[Teaser]

27. "Charged and Sentenced"

I know we're deep into the * admin now, but should there be a trial in there somewhere?

[geek tragedy]

28. Wonderland isn't a reality-based community. eom

[Inland]

31. I was looking for the sencence in the article

It isn't in there, I think the OP got a little ahead of himself.

[Kikosexy2]

29. I wish...

this was happening to Gov. Groperfuehrer of Calif.

[bluestateguy]

30. I was kind of hoping he would limp through his term

He would have made a valuable target (even though he is term limited out) for the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. Now he'll be out and you give the Republican Lt. Gov. a chance to build political support on his own. Kind of like what happened with John Rowland in Connecticut: now Jodi Rell is wildly popular and seems likley to be elected in her own right. Same thing happened in Arizona, with Jane Hull taking over from corrupt Fife Symington.

[OhioBlue]

37. Bruce Johnson is his Lt. Gov.

and he does not have the backing of the mainstream repukes. I read in another thread that the RW political machine in Ohio has already had discussions with him about not running. Also, I highly doubt the extreme right Ohio Legislature will even consider impeachment for Taft. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Taft has any fans, but there have been so many deals cut in that family, that taking down Taft could also take them down.

[brentspeak]

32. You need to fix your header

The article link reads, "Prosecutor: Ohio Governor To Be Charged"

[RaleighNCDUer]

33. I hope he fights, and fights,

and is investigated harder and harder, and it spreads to take out the rest of his administration, particularly the SoS, who then folds when facing jail time and spills his guts about the vote fraud in Ohio, leading to revelations about nation-wide fraud that takes down Bushco.

Well, I can hope, can't I?

[bearfan454]

35. No wonder Ohio was so easy for the pukes to steal

Crooked all the way to the top.

[DanCa]

36. What comes aroung goes around (nt)

[CubsFan1982]

38. In order for there to be a sentencing, doesn't there have to be a trial?

I hope you're not that unfamiliar with the judicial process.

[Renew Deal]

40. Not if he takes a plea.

[Renew Deal]

39. Can he be impeached?

I would think so.