toledoblade.com -- The Blade ~ Toledo Ohio

COLUMBUS - President Bush yesterday traveled to Ohio to talk about terrorism, but he arrived in the midst of the biggest statewide scandal in years and to a crowd of angry "Coingate" protesters.

Mr. Bush's motorcade sped by as dozens of protesters held signs proclaiming their frustration over the unfolding scandal at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

Some examples of the signs:

"Mr. President, Give back all of my money," "What ethics?" "$50 million for how many favors?'' and "Noe raised over $100,000 and you're only returning $4,000? Sounds like fuzzy math to me."

Gregory Donelson, a 48-year-old Columbus resident, wore two large plastic dimes around his neck - a reference to the $10 million to $12 million that is missing from a state-financed rare-coin fund created by Toledo-area coin dealer and Republican fund-raiser Tom Noe.

"What if some of those dollars ... ended up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? That's the question to ask,'' said Mr. Donelson as he stood along East 17th Avenue, across the street from the Highway Patrol Academy where the President spoke.

The President made the visit six days after Republican officials said Mr. Bush will return $4,000 in campaign contributions from Mr. Noe and his wife, Bernadette.

Greg Schults of Columbus protests Ohio Republicans Ken Blackwell, Jim Petro, and Betty Montgomery over the Tom Noe coin scandal. The politicians plan to run for governor next year.
( THE BLADE/ALLAN DETRICH )

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The Republican National Committee will return $2,000 contributed by Mr. Noe, who faces state and federal investigations for allegedly misappropriating millions in state money and allegedly violating federal campaign finance laws for funneling money to the Bush-Cheney campaign through others.

The money being returned by Mr. Bush and the RNC will be given to a charity, but one has not been chosen, said Aaron McLear, an RNC spokesman and a former aide to Governor Bob Taft.

The United Steel Workers yesterday said Mr. Bush should return the more than $100,000 that Mr. Noe raised for the President's re-election campaign last year - a level that made him a "pioneer" in the Bush-Cheney campaign.

Mr. McLear said there are no plans to return those funds.

"Our stance is we will continue to monitor the situation. We will take appropriate action if the situation dictates,'' he said.

As is typical during Ohio stops, Mr. Bush did not take any questions from reporters. The White House recently said Mr. Bush would not do an interview with The Blade.

In a 23-minute speech at the Highway Patrol Academy aimed at urging Congress to renew sections of the Patriot Act, Mr. Bush said authorities have used the legislation to investigate and ferret out terrorists without violating civil liberties.

"It's a different kind of war than what our nation is used to. We face brutal men who celebrate murder, who will stop at nothing," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Bush said federal judges have authority over the Patriot Act. He said he will appoint a five-member panel assigned to watch over how the federal law is applied.

The President said intelligence agencies should share information with local criminal investigators, removing a wall that he said allowed the 9/11 terrorists to succeed.

Mr. Bush cited the use of the Patriot Act in the arrest of an Ohio truck driver, Iyman Faris, who pleaded guilty in June, 2003, to providing material support to al-Qaeda and admitted to trying to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and derail trains in Washington or New York.

Authorities said Faris, who is serving a 20-year federal sentence, also conspired with Nuradin Abdi, a Somali immigrant and Columbus resident who was charged last year with plotting to blow up a Columbus area shopping mall.

Mr. Abdi pleaded not guilty.

Democrats and labor union members said they weren't surprised that Mr. Bush traveled to Columbus as the Bureau of Workers' Compensation scandal widened, with the news this week that the state lost $215 million in a high-risk hedge fund investment last fall - but didn't disclose it until Tuesday.

The bureau is the state agency charged with paying medical bills and providing monthly checks to Ohio workers injured on the job.

"It's been his M.O. since he's been in office,'' said Dave Caldwell, president of the central Ohio AFL-CIO. "He does what he wants to do. He has no regard for the working class, and he is happy to flaunt that and shove it in your face."

"He always wants to come in and distract people from the issues,'' added Steve Chaffin, the Ohio Democratic Party's field coordinator for northwest Ohio.

Allen Abney, a White House spokesman, said Mr. Bush made no reference to the controversy at the Bureau of Workers' Compensation because he was in Columbus to encourage Congress to renew the Patriot Act, which he called an "important tool for helping to fight terrorism."

Asked if Mr. Bush is concerned about the widening investigation into the investments of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Mr. Abney replied: "It's an ongoing investigation, at the state level, and I have nothing to say on that."

Four prominent GOP officeholders - Gov. Bob Taft, Attorney General Jim Petro, U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, and U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi - listened to Mr. Bush's speech from the front row of the packed auditorium at the Highway Patrol Academy.

Lisa Graves, ACLU senior counsel for legislative strategy, said Mr. Bush's claims in the speech soft-peddled what is really a dangerous act that threatens Americans' privacy and protection against government intrusion.

She said most of the 400 people charged under the Patriot Act were cited for minor infractions and that the Patriot Act was too big and dangerous an instrument for such investigations.

Toni Brandon, 33, said she hadn't read or heard any news about Mr. Noe or the Bureau of Workers' Compensation scandal. She and her eight-year-old son waited on a small hill near I-70 to try to catch a glimpse of the President as he headed toward the event.

"We love the President. He's a Christian and these people are evil,'' said Ms. Brandon, referring to the protesters. "I have plenty of military background in my family and all of us love the President. I wish we had a flag to wave."

Columbus bureau chief James Drew contributed to this report.

Contact Christopher Kirkpatrick at:
ckirkpatrick@theblade.com
or 419-724-6077.

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