Free Republic

Actual title is : Obama violated Senate norms to appoint this guy? New financial protection chief accused of misusing state funds (FR needs more space for title- I always have to alter Aaron's titles to post them) Sparking Republican charges he violated Senate norms, President Obama today used his recess appointment powers to name a head for the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. KleinOnline first reported last month that consumer groups had been calling on Obama to seize rarely-used powers in to make a recess appointee for Richard Cordray, the nominee for what the government bills as a new consumer...

Report rips Dann's 'house of scandal' Probes find 25 misdeeds by disgraced ex-AG, wife, others Monday, December 22, 2008 12:22 PM Updated: Monday, December 22, 2008 04:33 PM By Alan Johnson and James Nash THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Former Attorney General Marc Dann "violated the public trust," misused his state office and his campaign and transition funds, and turned his office into a "house of scandal," Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles concluded in a scathing investigative report released today. "This office was built for disaster," Charles said in a press conference outlining the report. "He came in and brought a...

Response to 'Dispatch' request Dann releases 2,300 e-mails Tuesday, April 22, 2008 3:11 AM By Darrel Rowland, Alan Johnson, Mark Niquette and Randy Ludlow THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The Daily Briefing Inside the e-mails: Marc Dann and Jessica Utovich DispatchPolitics # DispatchPolitics.com Complete election coverage. # Buckeye Forum Veteran political reporters examine Ohio politics in this weekly podcast. Nothing relating to an ongoing sexual-harassment probe was immediately apparent in hundreds of e-mails between Attorney General Marc Dann and his scheduler, Jessica Utovich, that were unveiled last night. After initially denying a Dispatch request for the communications, Dann's office released more than...

Columbus -- One of Attorney General Marc Dann's top managers, who is accused of sexual harassment, has a history of problems with cars and alcohol, including a drunken driving arrest months before he was hired and a smashed state car after. Dann knew about the arrest because, according to State Highway Patrol records, he was the one who picked Anthony Gutierrez up at 2:30 in the morning at the Canfield post after Gutierrez blew a .149 on a blood-alcohol test nearly twice the legal limit. The trooper who pulled him over on Sept. 22, 2006, for going 20 miles per...

COLUMBUS — Anthony Gutierrez turned in his state-owned SUV with unexplained damage on Oct. 10, roughly the same time frame that his employee, Cindy Stankoski, claims Gutierrez pressured her for sex and told her he got so drunk that he fell asleep at the wheel and awoke only when he hit a guardrail. The 2004 Chevy Suburban came into the state shop needing repair to the right front fender, right front and rear doors, and right quarter panel. Gutierrez, who managed the attorney general's vehicle fleet, did not fill out the required damage report, according to Ted Hart, a spokesman...

Columbus -- A 26-year-old woman filed a police report Friday about an evening of drinking last fall that she says ended with her waking up in Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann's apartment with her pants unbuttoned. She filed the complaint against her boss, Anthony , 50, a top aide to Dann, who she said was lying next to her in his underwear when she awoke. Columbus police detectives interviewed her but afterward released only a vague report. The woman has also filed an internal sexual harassment complaint against Gutierrez and was interviewed by an equal employment opportunity officer March 31....

Press Conference Highlighting John Kerry’s Continued Efforts to Play Politics with Important Security Matters COLUMBUS, OH – Today, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, and Bush-Cheney ’04 Ohio Valley Chair Jo Ann Davidson spoke at a press conference in Columbus, highlighting the importance of the Patriot Act in winning the War on Terror and John Kerry’s continued efforts to play politics with important security matters. “When the President signed the Patriot Act in October 2001, he said the law ‘takes account of the new realities and dangers posed by modern terrorists. It will help law enforcement...