Ohio Representative says he was asked to resign following criminal allegations
Ohio Republican Representative Rodney Creech has been removed from his leadership role at the request of House Speaker Matt Huffman, he said, adding that the leader asked him to resign following criminal allegations and an investigation that led to no charges in 2024.
Creech, of West Alexandria, was formerly the chair of the Agriculture Committee, but the state website shows that he is no longer in that role.
The lawmaker gave us a statement, saying, in part: 'These allegations have been found to be demonstrably false, and I have already begun pursuing legal action against those who are pushing this filth.'
We reached out to Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman's team for a statement and clarification, but did not hear back.
'I do not think the pressure on me to resign was justified, but I do believe Speaker Huffman is doing what he believes to be in the best interest of the Ohio House,' Creech said.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Laverne Cox Defends Past Relationship With ‘MAGA Republican' Cop After Intense Backlash
Laverne Cox is sharing more details about her former 'MAGA Republican voter' boyfriend just days after news of the relationship drew backlash from fans. The Emmy-winning actor, who is transgender, made the eyebrow-raising comment about her ex while promoting her forthcoming live show, 'Gurrl, How Did I Get Here?' set to take place in New York next week. Though Cox didn't identify the man by name, she described him in a short Instagram video as 'blond-haired, blue-eyed MAGA Republican voter who is a New York City police officer,' later boasting he was 21 years her junior and 'hot.' 'We were madly in love,' she said in the clip, posted Monday. 'I did not develop any of his politics. I still have my own.' Cox appears to have previously alluded to the relationship in interviews where she spoke about a breakup with a former partner who wasn't 'aligned with my values.' Still, it wasn't long before the 'Orange Is the New Black' and 'Inventing Anna' actor's Instagram post was flooded with negative responses from followers who called her out for being hypocritical. 'You are able to look past the fact that someone voted against your community and basically everything you represent…?' one person wrote. 'I don't get the punch line… nor does this entice me to want to go to a show to figure out how you justify this.' Added another, 'Sooooo the morals are dismissed when he's hot. Got it.' Cox attempted to clarify her comments in a followup video posted to Instagram Tuesday, noting she hadn't anticipated the criticism. 'I never adapted any of my ex's politics,' she explained in the roughly 50-minute clip. 'I always challenged him with love and empathy and tried to listen to his perspectives, often corrected him with facts, and I wanted to see if it possible to have a relationship with someone with different political beliefs in theory.' Though she warned against 'dehumanizing' those with different views, she went on to note, 'I think, with this current administration, lines certainly have to be drawn, because we're fighting for our lives in a different way than we were five years ago.' 'Everything Trump is doing, I'm against,' she said. Though Cox publicly backed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, her latest comments about her ex coincide with a new interview in which she offered a less-than-complimentary take on Harris' campaign. 'The way you win an election is turning out the base,' she told Ts Madison on her 'Outlaws' podcast last week. 'Trump turned out his base. The white supremacists who hadn't voted for years, they got up and they got out and the voted. She needed to turn out the base, but she needed to do it with a message that resonated with people that made them feel like she understood what working people are going through.' Related... Laverne Cox Shares The Reason She Doesn't Drive And It Comes With An Emotional Twist Joslyn DeFreece Recalls Her Early Days 'Nerding Out' With Laverne Cox In New Film 'Baby Reindeer' Actor Offers A Different Take On The Smash Netflix Series
25 minutes ago
Justice Department faces subpoena over Epstein files by House Oversight Committee
A House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The motion passed by a vote of 8-2. Notably, three GOP lawmakers -- Reps. Nancy Mace, Scott Perry and Brian Jack -- joined with Democrats on the subcommittee to approve the subpoena, defying Republican leadership. The House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer must sign the subpoena before it can be officially issued, per committee rules. Comer plans to sign off on the subpoena, a Republican committee source told ABC News. The top Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Summer Lee, initially offered the motion. Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York on July 2, Minchillo/AP, FILE Republicans on the committee pushed back and amended the subpoena to also include communications by Biden administration officials and the DOJ. These officials include Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales. Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia said in a statement that the subcommittee's vote on Wednesday "was just the first step toward accountability, and we will continue pushing for the truth." "Today, Oversight Democrats fought for transparency and accountability on the Epstein files and won. House Republicans didn't make it easy, but the motion was finally passed to force the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files," Garcia said. The news comes the same day House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, for a deposition to occur at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11. "The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein's cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny," Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. "What we're talking about here is someone who's in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms, if she wants," Comer said before the subpoena was issued. "If there are no terms, we'll roll in there quick." The situation will be similar to Comer's effort to interview Jason Galanis, a former business partner of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, during the GOP's impeachment inquiry of then-President Joe Biden. "I did that with [Jason] Galanis, and the Democrats were real offended that we would want to interview anyone in prison. But now you know they're, they're all they want to interview someone in prison," Comer said. The committee has shown a propensity to record video of the interviews and release content afterwards -- as it did with several former Biden officials who invoked their 5th Amendment rights earlier this summer -- so it's possible there could be handout video from the deposition. Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Maxwell sometime in the "coming days." President Donald Trump last week said on his social media platform that he had ordered the Justice Department to "release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval." Comer has also signaled that the circumstances of a closed-door deposition at a federal prison could attract both Democrats and Republicans to attend the interview. "There will be so many members of Congress that'll want to be in that prison," Comer said. "I would assume that there'll be a lot of members of the Oversight Committee on both -- in both parties that'll want to be there." Ghislaine Maxwell attends VIP Evening of Conversation for Women's Brain Health Initiative, Moderated by Tina Brown at Spring Studios on October 18, 2016 in New York Gaboury/Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images A congressional subpoena is a formal legal order issued by a congressional committee or individual compelling their testimony. David Oscar Markus, appellate counsel for Maxwell, said in a statement to ABC News that Maxwell "looks forward" to meeting with Blanche and that meeting will inform how she proceeds with the subpoena. "As for the congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds," he said. Markus also responded to comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier Wednesday questioning Maxwell's credibility as a witness. "If they see fit to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony, that's fine. I will note the obvious concern, the caveat that Chairman Comer and I and everyone has that could she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness?" Johnson said to reporters. "We understand Speaker Johnson's general concern -- Congress should always vet the credibility of its witnesses. But in this case, those concerns are unfounded. If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th -- and that remains a big if -- she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche. The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed," Markus said in a statement.
USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
House Oversight Committee to subpoena Epstein files and documents from Clintons
WASHINGTON − The House Oversight Committee voted July 23 to subpoena the Justice Department for files related to Jeffrey Epstein, answering calls from lawmakers and voters alike for more information on the disgraced financier and sex offender. The committee also moved to request documents related to Epstein investigations from a swath of other well-known figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Attorney General Merrick Garland. The vote on Epstein case files follows weeks of drama and rare dispute between President Donald Trump, who had a long friendship with Epstein, and his MAGA base. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pennsylvania, offered the motion, and Republican Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Brian Jack of Georgia sided with Democrats in voting for it. Perry later followed with his own motion, which also passed, to expand the committee's investigation to subpoena high-profile Democratic officials who Republicans allege did not address Epstein while they were in office.
