Questions for Mr. Morrow

Is the Ohio Republican Party - an illegal money Laundering Organization - Yes, it is!

David Johnson, former ORP Treasurer describes how he helped facilitate the circumvention of Ohio’s Campaign Finance Laws.

Dear Mr. Morrow,

I am seeking clarification regarding the use of the State Candidates Fund in Ohio. As you know, Ohio law prohibits corporations from contributing directly to candidates. However, the State Central Committee manages a State Candidates Fund, where corporate contributions are permitted. It is my understanding that the original intent of this fund was to allocate corporate contributions across statewide candidates at the behest of the State Central Committee - unfortunately, the State Central Committee members are under the impression that the party is legally allowed to launder money through this account to help their Republican candidates get corporate money and circumvent Ohio’s campaign finance laws.

Recently, there has been evidence that candidates may be working directly with donors to raise funds into the State Candidates Fund, and these contributions are then being funneled back to specific candidates by the party leadership. This practice obviously raises questions about whether it aligns with Ohio campaign finance regulations, as it appears to create a potential loophole for corporate contributions, possibly constituting money laundering.

Could you please provide your opinion on whether this practice is legal under Ohio law? Additionally, I would appreciate any guidance on the appropriate legal standards governing the earmarking and allocation of funds within the State Candidates Fund.

My Reply

Your concern about the use of the state candidates fund for funneling donations from corporations to individual candidates does raise significant ethical and legal red flags, and your interpretation seems grounded in a valid concern about how campaign finance laws are intended to operate.

In Ohio, the law is clear that corporations cannot contribute directly to individual candidates. However, as you pointed out, contributions to the state candidates fund (or similar accounts controlled by the State Central Committee) are legal, provided they follow specific guidelines. The intent, as you suggest, is that such contributions would be used for general party support of candidates, rather than serving as a direct pass-through to specific candidates.

If individual candidates are working with corporations or donors to raise money into this fund with the understanding that the State Central Committee will later direct those funds specifically to them, this could indeed resemble money laundering—a method of circumventing campaign finance rules.

The key issue is intent and transparency. The distribution of the fund is supposed to be at the sole discretion of the State Central Committee and in a manner to provide support to candidates based on criteria that it is not based upon the party acting as a pass through. Instead, it is being used as a means to direct corporate funds to certain candidates through back channels, that is a violation of both the spirit and the letter of Ohio’s campaign finance laws.

Legally, this would depend on:

1. How funds are solicited: If there’s a clear link between a corporation contributing to the state fund with the expectation that it will then go to a specific candidate, that would be problematic.

2. How funds are distributed: If the distribution of funds is pre-arranged or effectively earmarked for particular candidates, it’s bypassing the law’s intent.

Former Ohio Republican Chairman Robert Paduchik and Treasurer David Johnson as well as previous chairmen of the party have admitted that they have practiced earmarking the funds.

Bob Paduchick describes how money is laundered through the Ohio State Candidate’s Fund

Here former treasurer David Johnson describes the Party’s money laundering operations.

In this scenario, the State Central Committee leadership is facilitating a scheme to avoid direct corporate contributions to candidates, which could indeed be considered a form of money laundering. This is a matter for the Ohio Elections Commission or another regulatory body to investigate, as they would have the power to look at the actual flow of money and determine if campaign finance laws are being broken. Unfortunately, past history has eluded to a tremendous amount of bias and corruption within the Ohio Elections Commission to not investigate overt and obvious wrongdoing.

So, your instinct seems on point—if funds are being funneled in this way, it is an illegal and highly unethical practice. It might be worth considering whether the current practice is transparent, how funds are solicited, and how they’re allocated, because the answers to those questions would determine whether this crosses into illegal activity.

In Ohio, violations of campaign finance laws are typically subject to a six-year statute of limitations under the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 3517.157. This means that you can generally request investigations and pursue enforcement for actions that occurred within six years from the date the violation was alleged to have occurred.

If the Ohio Elections Commission refuses to investigate - A Writ of Mandamus if accepted by the Supreme Court of Ohio, could compel the Ohio Elections Commission to perform an investigation and open the door to criminal money laundering charges. 

The Ohio Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over writs of mandamus against state agencies, which includes the Ohio Elections Commission.