Cuyahoga County, Ohio County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora urged the Justice Department to review a federal investigation into alleged corruption by local Democrats, Cleveland’s NewsNet5 reported yesterday.
Jimmy Dimora (Cuyahoga County)
Dimora, who is also head of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, said the probe is a “witch hunt” by the Bush DOJ, according to NewsNet5. The FBI raided the commissioner’s home and office last summer, according to Cleveland’s WCPN. Corruption charges were filed this month in federal court against four people, but the indictments did not name Dimora, WCPN reported. Multiple references in the indictments to “Public Official Number One” are believed to refer to Dimora, according to WCPN.
“I believe that the … DOJ was engaged in a conspiracy to prosecute democratic elected officials in the Great Lakes industrial areas,” Dimora said, according to WCPN. “The Republican Party, through the DOJ, was trying to destroy me and our local democratic party to prevent us from delivering the votes that were necessary to elect Barack Obama.”
Dimora said he will send the Justice Department a formal request for a review of the probe later this week, according to WCPN.
