A trial is currently underway against the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives over allegations he accepted millions in bribes. But he says the money was political speech protected by the First Amendment - and that he has Supreme Court cases to back him up.
One case, 2010's Citizens United vs. FEC, reversed longstanding campaign finance restrictions as violating the First Amendment. Today, former Ohio speaker Larry Householder's trial is a test of how money works in politics in a post-Citizens United world. If Householder is ultimately acquitted, it may set a new precedent for just how far prosecutors must go to win a political corruption case.
On this episode of our weekly legal news podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law correspondent Alex Ebert explains how Householder got in this legal trouble in the first place and also why his novel defense is worrying some campaign finance watchdogs.
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