Householder receives subpoena for consulting contracts

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said he has subpoenaed House Speaker Larry Householder for copies of consulting contracts given to two former senior aides of the Glenford Republican.
Householder, as head of the Ohio House Republican Campaign Committee, fired his former chief of staff, Brett Buerck, and his fund-raiser, Kyle Sisk, last week after federal authorities began investigating allegations of campaign finance irregularities.
The subpoena also asks for invoices from Buerck and Sisk, the committee's financial records, and records of vendor payments that Householder authorized to be diverted to Sisk.
Blackwell and Householder are GOP rivals and both want to be Ohio's governor.
"This is an administrative subpoena for information," Blackwell said. "It is not a request that the speaker come in and get drilled by a circle of investigators. ... He has publicly said that he has encouraged everybody to fully cooperate, and we all have our jobs to do."
Craig Calcaterra, a Householder lawyer, said Householder has not received the subpoena. "He certainly intends to comply with any and all lawful inquiries," he said.
House Republicans are upset that the consultants' contracts call for large payouts for early termination. One version has Buerck and Sisk receiving $50,000 apiece and another calls for them to each get $100,000.
Blackwell says the payments would be illegal.