COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of Ohio’s most powerful lawmakers has been quietly cleared in a sexual-harassment inquiry conducted by an outside law firm where he had worked for 36 years, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press.
Republican state Rep. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati was investigated after a female House employee complained Jan. 30 that statements he made at a staff going-away party had worsened an already hostile work environment at the Statehouse.
Seitz made light of a Statehouse sexual-harassment scandal that prompted the resignation of Sen. Cliff Hite, a Republican, and made fun of one current and one former female lawmaker. Then-House Speaker Cliff Rosen-berger forced Seitz to apologize to House members and the former lawmaker.
Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office retained Taft Stettinius & Hollister for up to $12,000 to conduct an independent review of the complaint, documents obtained through a public-records request showed. Seitz left the firm in 2014 after more than three decades.
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the firm reported having no conflicts associated with the contract, which runs through June 30.
After an investigation that documents show included three interviews — of Seitz and two witnesses — the law firm concluded in April that Seitz had not violated the House’s anti-harassment policy.
Seitz said Friday that he had nothing to do with hiring the special counsel and knew neither of the investigators from the law firm who handled the case.