BucyrusOnline.com
www.bucyrusonline.com

AG Impeachment May Be A Slow Process 05-07-2008
The Ohio House member reviewing impeachment processes for possible action against Attorney General Marc Dann said he expects to present findings to legislative leaders Wednesday, but he cautioned against rushing to judgment.

A story from the AP says, while most state lawmakers said they want Dann to resign, they agreed that they need evidence before saying whether they'll support an impeachment resolution.

"We ought not be in a banana republic," state Rep. Bill Batchelder of Medina, the Republican handling the review, told the Dayton Daily News. "It's a place where we need some deliberation."

Gov. Ted Strickland and all other state-level Democrats told Dann in a letter Sunday that impeachment would begin immediately if he did not resign. Dann has refused their demands after admitting to an affair with a subordinate that he said contributed to an atmosphere in his office that led to sexual harassment claims.

But lawmakers gave the embattled Democrat some breathing room Tuesday. The immediate threat of impeachment slowed in part because state lawmakers were grappling with the reality that they will be making history and setting legal precedent for perhaps centuries to come. Ohio has not used the impeachment process since 1820, and the last time someone was impeached and convicted was 1808.

Lawmakers had not yet settled on what impeachable offenses they would level against Dann and suggested they may give him the rest of this week before moving ahead with such proceedings, which must begin in the House.

Click here to read more of this story from the AP.

BucyrusOnline.com