COLUMBUS, Ohio — Larry Householder, the former Ohio House Speaker now serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating Ohio’s largest bribery scandal, is reportedly considering an appeal to President-Elect Donald Trump for clemency. Householder’s attorney, Scott Pullins, told Cleveland.com that the former politician plans to submit an official pardon application to the U.S. Justice Department closer to Trump’s upcoming inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Householder, 65, was convicted last year on federal racketeering charges for leading a scheme that channeled $60 million in bribes from Akron-based utility FirstEnergy Corp. to help pass House Bill 6. The controversial 2019 energy law provided FirstEnergy with substantial financial benefits, including a $1 billion-plus bailout for two nuclear power plants owned at the time by one of its subsidiaries.
According to Pullins, Householder may also request that Trump commute his sentence, which would allow him to serve a reduced time in prison while maintaining his felony conviction. Commutation differs from a full pardon, which would remove the conviction from Householder’s record.
Throughout his trial and sentencing, Householder has continued to assert his innocence. He has appealed his conviction, citing claims of judicial bias and errors in the jury’s instructions, among other arguments.
Currently, Householder is incarcerated at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Elkton, Ohio, where he is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence unless clemency is granted.