A special prosecutor has found that allegations made by Democratic Ohio Rep. Cecil Thomas days before the November election against Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers were entirely “baseless.”
Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers.
The 13-page report was filed late Monday by Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve, who was appointed last month as special prosecutor.
Tekulve also found that Thomas’ sworn affidavit in support of his claims “was filed in bad faith.”
In a statement, Powers said it was “shameful that these allegations were taken seriously by anyone, from the start.”
“This was nothing more than a politically motivated hit designed to influence the outcome of November’s election,” she said, “and it has been dismissed correctly for the sham that it is.”
Thomas’ allegations were filed Nov. 1, four days before the election. Powers, a Republican, ended up losing to Connie Pillich, the first Democrat to hold the prosecutor’s office in nearly a century. Pillich won 51.3% to 48.7%.
Powers also said she is evaluating legal options “to remedy the damage this act has caused.”
Thomas had alleged that Powers, a former juvenile court judge, backdated a court entry in a case in 2021. Powers said she simply had corrected a clerical error in order to preserve a juvenile’s right to appeal one of her decisions.
Tekulve’s investigation found that the Hamilton County Juvenile Court’s computer system does not allow users to backdate entries. If Powers had wanted information in the docket changed, she would have had to first request it in writing. There was no such request in the case, the report said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Special prosecutor: Claims against Melissa Powers were ‘baseless’