CINCINNATI (AP) — Republican ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is directly contradicting FBI testimony at his corruption trial in Cincinnati.
Taking the stand for the first time Wednesday, the 63-year-old Householder denied attending swanky Washington dinners where prosecutors allege he and executives of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. hatched a $60 million bribery scheme at the heart of their case in 2017.
Householder looked relaxed and confident during his first day of testimony.
He told jurors in U.S. District Court he never demanded loyalty from his members or pressured them to vote for nuclear bailout legislation.
He also denied giving a Statehouse superlobbyist his “proxy.”