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Timeline of Taft Case

Here are highlights of events surrounding Gov. Bob Taft's acknowledgment that he failed to report numerous golf outings as governor.

Highlights of events surrounding Gov. Bob Taft's acknowledgment that he failed to report numerous golf outings as governor:

  • April 3, 2005 -- The (Toledo) Blade reports that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has invested $50 million in rare coins with Tom Noe, a top Republican donor and fund-raiser in Ohio.
  • May 11 -- Taft gives speech at an ethics symposium at Xavier University, reminding those in attendance that public employees must pay for golf outings with persons working for a company doing business with the state.
  • May 23 -- Inspector General Tom Charles asks Taft's office for several years' worth of phone records and e-mails, saying he wants to know more about what the governor's staff may have received from Noe.
  • June 21 -- Taft releases a letter to the Ohio Ethics Commission in which he says he failed to report numerous golf outings on required financial disclosure forms as governor. Noe's attorney says Taft golfed with him twice but wouldn't say who paid.
  • June 22 -- Taft says he has no intention of resigning over the golf controversy.
  • July 20 -- Longaberger Co., the nation's largest basket maker, files an amended report listing it paid for a $125 golf outing for Taft on Sept. 12, 2003. The report was filed with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, which oversees lobbying activities.
  • Aug. 5 -- At the request of The Associated Press and other media, Taft releases a list of 21 golf invitations he accepted as governor, including a May 13, 2001, outing with Noe. The records don't indicate who paid; some partners said they did; others say Taft picked up his own tab.
  • Aug. 11 -- The Ohio Ethics Commission concludes its investigation into Taft's golf outings and forwarded the results to prosecutors.
  • Aug. 17 -- Prosecutors say they plan to charge Taft with four misdemeanors for failing to report 52 gifts worth about $5,800, including 47 golf outings.

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