HBO doc digs into Ohio's biggest bribery scandal
The big picture:"Ohio Confidential" is part of a two-film documentary series about dark money in politics, releasing 15 years after the Citizens United Supreme Court case.
State of play: The series is directed by Alex Gibney and inspired by Jane Mayer's book "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right."
"Ohio Confidential" features the suicide of lobbyist Neil Clark to unravel the story of FirstEnergy's $60 million bribery scheme, which secured power for Speaker of the House Larry Householder and 2019 passage of the controversial energy bailout.
Householder was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2023 and is currently incarcerated at FCI Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio.
Zoom in: Featured in the film are Mayer herself, former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, Columbus Dispatch reporter Laura A. Bischoff, and a number of federal lawyers and investigators.
💭 Sam's thought bubble: I know the ins and outs of the case by now, but I'm still eager to watch this and thrilled the material is getting professional treatment and distribution on a major platform.
"Wealth of the Wicked," the second film in the series, traces the history of campaign finance in the U.S. from the creation of the Federal Election Commission in 1974.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
4 days ago
- New York Post
Bill Maher rips Hunter Biden after Melania Trump threatens to sue disgraced ex-first son
HBO 'Real Time' host Bill says Hunter Biden better be worried about Melania Trump's threat to sue him for $1 billion after the scandal-scarred former first son claimed she was introduced to President Donald Trump by late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 'Melania says she's going to sue Hunter Biden,' the late-night funnyman said Friday, drawing laughs from his audience. 'That's not the joke part. I really like this where she says she's going to sue him for a billion dollars.' Advertisement 'If Hunter loses, it's going to be weird for him writing a woman a check because she's not a prostitute,' said Maher, drawing chuckles and applause. 3 HBO 'Real Time' host Bill says Hunter Biden better be worried about Melania Trump's threat to sue him for $1 billion after the scandal-scarred former first son claimed she was introduced to President Donald Trump by late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Real Time with Bill Maher The first lady put Biden on notice Wednesday that she'll sue him unless he apologizes and takes down a podcast video where he made the false claim. Advertisement However, Biden crassly brushed aside Melania Trump's threat during an interview on YouTube show 'Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan' released Thursday. 3 From left, Donald Trump and Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell seen at Mar-a-Lago in February 2000. Getty Images 3 Hunter Biden shrugged off Melania Trump's threat to sue him for $1 billion for defamation. YouTube / Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan 'F–k that. That's not going to happen,' Biden said with an arrogant smile. Advertisement Both the president and first lady have said they met in 1998 during a New York Fashion Week party hosted by businessman Paolo Zampolli. Federal investigators in 2023 raised the possibility of charging first son Hunter Biden for crimes related to sex trafficking. Justice Department Tax Division prosecutor Jack Morgan outlined nine instances in which then-President Joe Biden's son appeared to be communicating with prostitutes and coordinating their travel across state lines, in an October 2020 email to Assistant US Attorney Lesley Wolf released by the House Ways and Means Committee Hunter Biden had been staring at jail time after being found guilty in 2024 of illegal possession of a firearm and also pleaded guilty to charges in another indictment for willful refusal to pay $1.4 million in taxes. However, he was later pardoned by his father.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
HBO Aims To Loomerize Laura Loomer Over Deposition Leak & Posts In Bill Maher Defamation Suit
Gavin Newsom wants to fight 'fire with fire' when it comes to Donald Trump and attacks on American democracy, but HBO and Bill Maher just want Laura Loomer to stop talking and posting. Good luck. More from Deadline Networks Plan Special Reports And Dispatch Anchors To Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin Summit PBS To Cut Budget By 21% Following Public Media's Loss Of Federal Funding Denée Benton Talks Being The Belle Of The Ball In 'The Gilded Age' Season 3 Finale 'It has come to Defendants' attention that after Plaintiff needlessly filed her deposition on the public docket as part of unrelated objections, a copy of the unsealed exhibit was made available on the website CourtListener,' HBO declared to Florida-based federal Judge James Moody in a filing on August 13, a couple weeks after Loomer's scorching sit-down with the outlet and Maher's lawyer Katherine Bolger and others was leaked. HBO are accusing the hot button Rumble host of stepping way over the line online with the federal courts by talking about her deposition, which was not intended to be made public. A leak that Loomer, who sued HBO and Maher for defamation and $150 million in October 2024, took the time to comment on, as HBO's Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and Shullman Fugate PLLC attorneys noted: 'Since yesterday, Plaintiff has Tweeted about this deposition three times in contravention of the Court's Order.' This all started on September 22, 2024 when Maher postulated on-air that Trump and Loomer were having a fling. Specifically, the host resurrected his who is Trump the 'f*cking' quip and replied to himself 'I think it might be Laura Loomer.' In Maher's logic, and in search of an easy laugh, that's why the far right activist had so much pull with the then GOP candidate. In her leaked deposition, which leaked online last month, Loomer says the blast radius of Trump onetime dinner companion Maher's remark left her 'smeared as a whore and as a groupie.' 'Bill Maher has no understanding of my personal life,' Loomer went on to say in the now resealed depo. 'He was reckless with the regard to the fact that I have a boyfriend. And he has no evidence that I had sex with President Trump. It's just outrageous. And so as it relates to my situation, yes, it's defamatory.' This week, in a sideshow that will likely not make it into Maher's Real Time monologue tonight, HBO want Judge Moody to shut Loomer and the leaks down. In that context, two of Loomer's tweets from August 12 directly referenced her contention in the deposition that she had been previous told by 'several of President Trump's staff have told me in confidence that Lindsey Graham is gay.' As well as hitting frequent foe Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-FL) and Arby's (won't go there, look it up), Loomer punched way up on the long time South Carolina Senator and Trump loyalist to a fault. On Thursday, Loomer's lawyer Larry Klayman essentially told HBO and Maher to take a long walk off a short legal pier. 'The tweets that Defendants reference that were made by Plaintiff Ms. Loomer actually show that she did not disclose or reveal any information in the sealed deposition,' the Judicial Watch founder said in his August 14 filing. 'Ms. Loomer simply responded innocuously to inquiries posed by persons whohad gained access to the deposition transcript through their own means. Thus, the bottom line is that she did not 'use' any of her deposition or discovery.' Klayman ends his filing popping HBO and Maher on the nose for leaning into the leaked deposition and Loomer's tweets. He calls it simply a scheme to 'drive up time, cost, and expense with a manufactured nonissue.' Reps for HBO and Bill Maher did not respond to Deadline's request for comment on the latest legal flurry. Love her, hate her, fear her, or just wish she would leave you alone, Trump's self-declared MAGA 'loyalty enforcer' Loomer has proven a power player in Trump's DC. While she has no official gig in the administration, which Loomer says is in no small part due to Maher's comments about her and Trump,, among her alleged victims so far have been National Security Council and CIA staffers, and some of RFK Jr's staff – though White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had at least one MAHA team member rehired. On Thursday, HBO and Maher's lawyers were back in the court docket pushing Judge Moody to get Loomer and Klayman to hand over documents required for the soon-to-end discovery. They also questioned Loomer to provide some evidence of 'a single social relationship that has been harmed' by Maher's sharp statement. Perhaps more importantly, HBO and Maher want Loomer 'to identify any individual she contends was led by Defendants' statement to mistakenly believe that she and President Trump engaged in a sexual relationship.' Or put another way: 'Plaintiff argues that her sitting for a deposition somehow alleviates her of her obligation to produce responsive documents and answer interrogatories. That is not the law. Parties do not get to pick and choose which discovery vehicles they prefer to engage with.' Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Emmys, Oscars, Grammys & More Everything We Know About Prime Video's 'Legally Blonde' Prequel Series 'Elle'
New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
Liberal comic Marc Maron who helped popularize podcasting explains why he turned down Hillary Clinton interview
Stand-up comedian and podcast host Marc Maron told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday why he decided to turn down an interview with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2017. Maron, a podcasting pioneer and host of the popular 'WTF with Marc Maron' podcast, interviewed former President Barack Obama in 2015, which helped open the door to high-level politicians willing to appear on his show, such as Hillary Clinton. When Maron's longtime producer Brendan McDonald pitched Clinton, fresh off her loss to President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, the comedian decided against interviewing the former Secretary of State. ''You're the guy to do this,'' McDonald recalled telling Maron. 'He adamantly disagreed.' Maron told The Hollywood Reporter that 'the success rate of getting to a candid place with politicians is very small,' and that his successful interview with Obama was an exception. 'And this is somebody who's divisive and controversial and has a history that's somewhat sordid, not by any fault of her own, but I just didn't see where I could go with that,' he said of the prospect of interviewing Clinton. 4 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton walks on stage before her debate against Donald Trump at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Oct. 19, 2016. EPA 4 Marc Maron during his HBO show Marc Maron: Panicked. Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Although his 'WTF' podcast continues to maintain cultural relevance, Maron announced in June that he will be ending the long-running show. He told CNN on Thursday that he's just over the medium and noted that the podcast space has become oversaturated. 'I don't want to chase the cultural conversation through clickbait and garbage. You know, I don't want to be tethered,' Maron said. 'And now you're getting out just when everyone's 100% convinced that podcasts are deciding American elections and the future of mankind. Right? So why get out just when everyone catches up to you?' CNN anchor John Berman asked the comedian. 4 Maron told The Hollywood Reporter that 'the success rate of getting to a candid place with politicians is very small,' and that his successful interview with Obama was an exception. CNN 4 Hillary Clinton reacts during her concession speech after losing the 2016 Presidential Election to Donald Trump on Nov. 9, 2025. AFP/Getty Images Maron told the anchor that he never intended for the show to be about politics, and felt that it had run its course. 'And we really chose not to do politics and just do kind of profiles and sort of candid conversation,' he said, describing how he originally set up the show. 'And we were audio, and we remained audio because we believe that's the most intimate, you know, form.' He continued, noting that he's satisfied with how much content the show has produced and that he wants to get out with so many other podcasters competing on the scene. 'And also, if we stop and at this point, you know, we have a body of work that stands on its own. And in terms of, yeah, podcasts being the new medium, that means there's 10,000 podcasts. Everyone's doing one, and it's just, the environment is a little cluttered and oversaturated.' Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
