Free Republic

Gun laws “You will get gun reform when the public says they’ve had enough. Until they’ve said enough, it’s not going to happen. ... There’s going to come a point where people say enough of this.” Constitutional amendments He would support a GOP measure to make changes more difficult “only if they come with the idea of making it easier to get on the ballot with the (initiated statute). “If it’s not, I think we should reject it, because the public needs to be heard. I’d rather this (trivial) stuff doesn’t go into the constitution, but if you don’t give...

(AP) TOLEDO, Ohio -- A coin dealer and prominent GOP fundraiser at the center of an Ohio political scandal pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges he illegally funneled about $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign. Tom Noe, once a powerful political figure who also raised money for Ohio Republicans, still is charged with embezzlement in an ill-fated $50 million coin investment that he managed for the state workers' compensation fund. The investment scandal has been a major embarrassment for Ohio's ruling Republicans and given Democrats a better shot at winning state offices this year, including the governor's office, which has...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The scandal began as a curiosity. Tom Noe, a gregarious businessman and Republican Party leader in northwest Ohio, had been entrusted with $50 million in state money to invest in rare coins, with the idea of winning fat returns for the workers' compensation fund. It seemed an oddity at most, but like a loose thread on a jacket, the more investigators pulled, the more the garment unraveled, revealing members of Ohio's Republican establishment who had been wined, dined and enriched by Noe. Gov. Bob Taft (R), heir to the state's most famous political name, pleaded no contest...

Associated Press WASHINGTON — The federal case against one of President Bush's boosters in Ohio is a signal to political campaigns that they will suffer more grief than usual if their biggest fundraisers run afoul of campaign finance laws. Criminal provisions of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as "McCain-Feingold," were invoked in the Oct. 27 arrest of coin dealer Tom Noe, a leading GOP fundraiser in the Toledo area. The Justice Department says it's the largest case of its kind under the law. Noe pleaded innocent Oct. 31 in federal court in Toledo to charges that he...

The Real Meaning of Buckeye Special Election Is Ohio Turning Blue? by John Gizzi Posted Aug 12, 2005 In the wake of a Democratic candidate’s narrow loss in the August 2 special election in Ohio’s most Republican U.S. House district, pundits have begun pondering whether the Buckeye State is turning blue. The problem for Republicans seems to be the stench that has begun to envelop the administration of Ohio GOP Gov. Robert A. Taft. Republicans have held the Ohio governorship for 16 years and in the last two presidential elections the state has been indispensable in providing an Electoral College...

Toledo, Ohio -- A disastrous investment by the state in rare coins has erupted into both a financial and political scandal, with Ohio's Republicans running for cover and the Democrats seeing great opportunity. At least $10 million is feared missing from a $55 million fund that the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau set up in a risky and highly unorthodox foray into the buying and selling of coins. The investment was managed by coin dealer Tom Noe, a prodigious fundraiser who has showered contributions on Republicans in Ohio and beyond. In the past few weeks, a slew of Republicans, including President...

Since 1998, Ohio has invested millions of dollars in the unregulated world of rare coins, buying nickels, dimes, and pennies. Controlling the money for the state? Prominent local Republican and coin dealer Tom Noe, whose firm made more than $1 million off the deal last year alone. The agreement to invest the money in rare coins is rare itself: The Blade could find no other instance of a state government investing in a rare coin fund. Neither the state nor Mr. Noe could provide one. "I don't think I'd be excited to invest in rare coins," Vermont Treasurer Mike Ablowich...

SACRAMENTO - President Bush is returning $4,000. The Republican National Committee is donating $2,000 to charity. Top Ohio politicians are giving up $60,000. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has "no intention" of giving back $10,000 he received from a prominent Ohio coin dealer under investigation for possibly defrauding his state of millions. Despite the unfolding controversy, Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser said Friday the governor plans to keep $10,000 donated by Ohio businessman Tom Noe. "The allegations about Mr. Noe became public a year after we accepted his contribution," said Schwarzenegger fundraiser Marty Wilson. "As he was an active Ohio Republican Party fundraiser...

Federal authorities confirmed yesterday that they are investigating prominent Republican donor Thomas W. Noe, who was President Bush’s re-election chairman in northwestern Ohio and has given tens of thousands to GOP candidates. U.S. Attorney Gregory A. White in Cleveland said the investigation of Noe, of Maumee, is related to campaign contributions. He declined to elaborate. "We are publicly acknowledging there is an investigation," White said. "It is ongoing." He said the investigation has been proceeding "for several months" but that there’s no date for completing it. Sources said a federal search warrant of Noe’s River Road home was executed last...