Ohio official: Help needed from A.G.'s office on whether A.G. can be impeached

5/7/2008

COLUMBUS Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted says lawmakers determining whether Attorney General Marc Dann should be impeached over a sex scandal need help from an unlikely source: the attorney general himself.

Husted said Wednesday the House isn't equipped to investigate whether Dann has committed any impeachable offenses. He says it would be helpful if Dann appointed an independent investigator to review all the information from the scandal.

Dann, the state's top attorney, admitted an extramarital affair with an employee that he said contributed to an atmosphere in his office that led to sexual harassment claims against an aide.

Officials in both parties are calling for Dann, a Democrat, to resign. The House speaker's request for an independent investigator is another sign that lawmakers are struggling with whether his offenses warrant impeachment.