Imprisoned Republican serving 20 years seeks Trump pardon after bribery conviction: report

Imprisoned former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder seeks a pardon from Donald Trump once he takes office, reported FOX 8 on Monday.

Householder is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted in the largest public corruption case in Ohio history. Federal prosecutors detailed a sweeping scheme in which Householder passed a $1 billion bailout of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.'s nuclear power plants and gave them favorable treatment under energy law, in return for the firm giving $60 million to a dark-money nonprofit that supported various Ohio politicians.

Even prior to the push for a Trump pardon, Householder was appealing his conviction to the Sixth Circuit, arguing that prosecutors overstepped because he did not personally receive anything of monetary value as part of the bribe.

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In his first term, Trump became notorious for his excessive use of the pardon power, often using it to free various people convicted of lying on his behalf like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

He has suggested that in his second term, he could issue pardons to at least some of the people who stormed the Capitol in the Jan. 6 attacks to try to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden's election in 2020.

Even if Trump gives Householder the pardon he is seeking, he would not be in the clear, because he also faces state felony charges for the same bribery scheme, with a trial set to begin next year. Per FOX 8, those charges include "aggravated theft, money laundering, telecommunications fraud and tampering with records, for allegedly using campaign funds to pay his defense attorneys in the federal case." Presidents can only pardon federal convictions.

Trump himself faces multiple felony cases, but they are all but dead with him set to take office in January, leaving the only criminal conviction against him the case in Manhattan for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged election interference scheme.