In his last required ethics disclosure statement filed in May 2019, Rosenberger reported no employment. His investments were limited to his deferred compensation and public retirement accounts.
In October 2018, Rosenberger purchased a $330,000 house in Warren County through a newly formed LLC, property records show.
RELATED: Little money down, former Ohio House speaker buys house in Warren County amid federal investigation
Rosenberger declined to say how he paid for the trips or say if he’s currently employed.
“I have been a private citizen for almost two years, and my personal life is not newsworthy,” he said in a text message. He declined further comment.
“I’m not on Instagram and have not looked at his Instagram feed. And I’m not privy to his finances and it would be inappropriate for me to speculate,” his defense attorney David Axelrod said when asked how Rosenberger afforded the trips.
RELATED: Search warrant shows road map of investigation against former Ohio House speaker Cliff Rosenberger
Nearly two years ago, Rosenberger abruptly resigned as House speaker after he told the Dayton Daily News he had hired Axelrod to deal with an FBI probe. Federal agents raided his home and storage unit a month later in May 2018.
In August 2018, the Ohio House released copies of a federal search warrant and subpoena that shows authorities were trying to build a public corruption case against Rosenberger and three payday lending industry representatives. While Rosenberger was speaker, a payday lending reform bill was opposed by the industry and stalled in the Ohio House.
There have been no public developments on the case since then. FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said the investigation is ongoing and there are no new details to release at this point.
Axelrod said Rosenberger has done nothing wrong, yet has had the investigation hanging over him like “a sword of Damocles.”
“This needs to come to an end at some point,” he said.
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