Hagan drops lawsuit accusing Taft & GOP of corruption

Darn, I wish he had held out. Why didn't he do some fundraising for a legal defense fund?

I wonder if someone else could file a similar suit, someone who isn't afraid to raise the funds to fight the GOP. It would be well worth it to get the Ohio GOP to open its fundraising records.

No doubt it may turn up some Dem corruption too, but it would be worth it to bring the Ohio GOP pay to play system down.

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/113541700918620.xml&coll=2

Just as his case seemed to gain momentum with a legal victory in September, Democrat Tim Hagan has decided to withdraw his lawsuit accusing Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and other top-ranking Republicans of trading unbid contracts for campaign contributions.

Hagan was unavailable for comment Friday. His lawyer, Ken Seminatore, said Hagan did not offer an explanation when he asked him to file a motion to dismiss the case.

"I only spoke with him briefly," Seminatore said. "But I can assure you his decision had nothing to do with either his or my lack of confidence in the merits of this case."

...

The lawsuit, filed in August 2004, contends that Ohio's GOP-controlled government awarded billions of dollars in unbid state contracts to vendors who artificially inflated their prices to cover contributions they kicked back to Republican campaign funds. In addition to Taft, others named in the suit include Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, state Auditor Betty Montgomery, former House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Treasurer Joe Deters.

Hagan, who lost to Taft in the 2002 gubernatorial race, enjoyed a major victory in September, when a county judge ruled that pretrial sharing of evidence could begin, forcing Republicans to open their records and campaign coffers to scrutiny.