'Careless' mistake, not 'fraud,' put CPAC chair on Ohio ads against Larry Householder

COLUMBUS - A radio station employee says he mistakenly put national conservative leader Matt Schlapp's name on paperwork for Statehouse ads running in Ohio ahead of the May 8 primary.

The commercials, linked to a contentious race for Ohio House speaker, are paid for by Virginia-based Conservative Alliance Political Action Committee. That group is running advertisements against Rep. Larry Householder, R-Glenford, and his allies in his quest to become the next speaker of the Ohio House.

Political groups must file paperwork with broadcast stations and the Federal Communications Commission when they buy airtime for their commercials. On some of that paperwork for the anti-Householder ads, Schlapp was listed as the chairman of Conservative Alliance PAC.

Schlapp chairs a different group: the American Conservative Union and its annual Conservative Political Action Conference. He apparently had no idea he was listed as a board member of the anti-Householder PAC. A spokesman for Schlapp's group called the error "a terrible fraud," and the group sent letters asking broadcast stations to stop airing the commercials.

After CPAC denounced the ads, an attorney for the anti-Householder PAC blamed a "careless" mistake by a radio station employee. The anti-Householder PAC turned in correct paperwork, said Washington attorney James Tyrrell. Then, Carl White, an employee of a radio station in Willoughby, decided to fill in a field the PAC had left blank.

White conflated CPAC with the Conservative Alliance PAC, filling in the names of high-profile board members for the national group.

It turns out the field was left blank because super PACs don't have "executive committees,"  White said in an apology letter shared by the anti-Householder PAC. PACs typically are run by political operatives who take money from donors and spend it to influence an election.

"I made mistakes in what I believed to be efforts to benefit all parties," White said.

Householder last week filed a lawsuit against the Conservative Alliance PAC, along with Virginia-based Honor and Principles PAC, for publishing defamatory statements about him during his re-election campaign. For instance, his suit says, the PACs' commercials have incorrectly said he had committed a crime.

In 2004, Householder and several top advisers were under federal investigation for alleged money laundering and irregular campaign practices. The government closed the case without filing charges.

Householder served in the Ohio House from 1996 to 2004 and served as the speaker from 2001 to 2004. He returned to the Ohio House in 2017 after serving as Perry County auditor.

More:Larry Householder returns 2 big-dollar donations that broke state rules

Now, he's hoping to become House speaker once again. Last week, Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clinton County, resigned after news broke that he was under FBI investigation for his lavish lifestyle.

It's not immediately clear who is behind the anti-Householder ads, although they are obviously people who oppose his bid for speaker.

Conservative Alliance PAC had not received any contributions by March 31, the end of the last period for reporting to the Federal Election Commission, so it hasn't disclosed donations it received this month. Tyrrell, the PAC's attorney, did not respond to a request for further comment.

Honor and Principles PAC received $175,000 in late March, but it was all from LZP LLC, a group incorporated by a Columbus attorney on March 27. It's unclear who is behind LZP LLC, and the group's attorney, James Ryan of Bailey Cavalieri, did not respond to requests for comment.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group, has filed a complaint with the FEC against Honor and Principles. The PAC is running a "conduit contribution scheme," CREW said in the complaint, depriving the public of information about the people behind political ads.

Still, it's unlikely the more information will come to light before the House is holds a vote for a new speaker, likely within the next month. Householder's leading opponent is Rep. Ryan Smith, R-Bidwell, a Rosenberger ally.

The negative ads in the Statehouse battle run both ways: Supporters of Householder are spending money on commercials against Smith's allies.

The two are each trying to pad their coalition in the May 8 primary. They are each backing different Republicans in Statehouse primaries all over the state.

Kate Snyder of the Zanesville Times Recorder contributed reporting.

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