The HB 6 supply scandal from Ohio is treated in HBO film with the probability

By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media and Dan Haugen, Canary Media, Ohio Capital Journal
April 29, 2025

This story was originally published by Canary Media.

One of the largest supply scandals in the history of US history has so far been largely unknown outside of Ohio.

Last week, HBO released a documentary that covers the long Sordid saga, which led to the federal penalty of a former spokesman for the Ohio House of representatives and a former head of the Ohio Republican Party.

“The Dark Money Game: Ohio Confidential” follows the story of how supply companies have used bribes in the amount of around 60 million US dollars to secure more than 1.5 billion US dollars of subsidies for aging, uneconomical coal and nuclear power plants.

The Canary Media, which reporter Kathiann Kowalski has contributed, has covered more than a decade with the other efforts by Hausbill 6 Saga and the Ohio supply company to finance the counters. Dan Haugen, senior editor at Canary Media, recently spoke to Kowalski about her reactions to the new film.

Deployment

The Circleville police reacted to 35 incidents, including arrest warrants, domestic difficulties and fraud reports on April 24

The following transcript was processed slightly for length and clarity.

Haugen: So you saw this new HBO documentary “Ohio Confidential” the other day. What about it in your head today?

Kowalski: I was impressed by the focus that they used, such as dark money and GERRYMANGERING, after a case of the Supreme Court of 2010, which opened the door for unlimited corporate expenditure for political campaigns, only a few conditions.

Haugen: Was there factual information that had not previously been reported by you or others?

Kowalski: Many of them were very familiar because I had read most of the exhibits, read Neil Clark's book, had been part of the process and had been pursued for years. There was an interesting scene in which they were able to record the FBI film material that observed a private detective, which the former chairman of Ohio Gop, Matt Borges and Company, apparently maintained Tyler Fehrman, was the witness in the event of a law enforcement.

Haugen: Has the film changed your understanding of HB 6 history in any way?

Kowalski: You did a decent job to connect a few points. I had not thought about how the actions by the former house spokesman Larry Householder also enabled a right-wing extremist coalition in the legislature to search a law against abortion management in 2019. It gave me a broader perspective on the anti -democratic angle of public worship, but my understanding of the basic history did not change.

Haugen: Where did the abortion legislation appear on the timeline?

Kowalski: The way the filmmaker is present is that, as soon as the homeowner helped these people, he owed the legislation to abortions, then people who owed him something. I looked at the timing and governor Mike Dewine signed the anti-abortization legislation the day before the introduction of House Bill 6.

Haugen: One of the greatest unknowns today is what the governor office has in all of this, if at all. For a dinner in December 2018, you and others reported a few weeks before the last two assumptions as governor and lieutenant governor for dinner. Neither was charged or accused of misconduct. Does the film host new light on its connections?

Kowalski: The filmmakers contain a claim of 5 million US dollars from Firstergy to choose Dewine. And they find a disclaimer from Dewine's office that everything was within the limits of what was allowed according to the law. Basically, this is about everything you have done. It was not a deep immersion in the governor's actions or in Husted, who was recently appointed to fill the US Senate's seat of Vice President JD Vance. I think maybe they wanted to concentrate their story closely on the legislator and what was demonstrated in the first federal criminal proceedings. This also avoids more disclaimers about how nothing has been demonstrated against others, each contested misconduct, etc. etc.

Haugen: Is that something you would recommend that your readers watch?

Kowalski: Yes. It is convincing storytelling. It does a good job to explain things in a clear need. There is a limited line -up of characters and they can follow the story. If House Bill 6 is new to you, it is definitely worth being seen. And now it is certainly important that we not only consider the continued use of dark money in politics through charitable or limited liability companies, but also with technology, probably more opportunities to cover up potential bribes. So, yes, people should be aware of it.

The Ohio Capital Journal is part of the States Newsroom, a non -profit news network supported by grants, and a coalition of donors as a public charity 501c (3). Ohio Capital Journal retains editorial independence. Contact editor David Dewitt for questions: [email protected].