There are criminal cases that look sloppy. Then there are criminal cases that are so badly handled, so politically convenient, and so consistently protective of the defendant that they begin to look like something else entirely. The prosecution of Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley is no longer just a mess. It is a stain on the justice system and on every attorney and judge involved.
This post lays out the full timeline, the facts the public had hidden from it, in one place, and the reasons why disbarment, removal from office, and a complete reboot of this case are now the only credible remedies.
No long pauses. No excuses. No hiding behind sealed filings.
Here are the facts.
The Raid
On November 10, 2022, the Ohio Auditor of State executed a search warrant on the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts office. This was not a routine inquiry. The Auditor’s Special Investigations Unit does not raid public offices unless there is probable cause for fraud, theft, or unlawful interest in public contracts.
The Clerk’s office IT systems were seized.
Sheriff’s deputies provided security.
The warrant was sealed.
And the public was told it was probably nothing more than documents from a disgruntled employee.
That statement did not age well.
The Nepotism that’s mysteriously no longer relevant
One of the core allegations involved Foley hiring Judge James Piergies’ son into an IT job he was not qualified for. When news of the investigation spread, Piergies Jr. personally called me to explain his side. His explanations were incoherent. He was clearly in over his head. It was pretty obvious the only reason he was hired was a deal between Foley and Piergies to take care of each other. At least half of the 12 charges were about this, and now, they are dismissed.
The Indictment Arrived Before the Election. Foley Got Re-elected Anyway.
On July 31, 2024, Foley was indicted on twelve criminal counts.
The public should have been outraged.
Instead, he was re-elected in November 2024.
Why did the indictment not have political consequences?
Because there was no speedy trial.
There was no evidence presented.
There was no discovery hearing.
There was no narrative for the public.
The Auditor and prosecutors slow-walked everything.
The electorate was denied the information it needed.
And Mike Foley’s signs still looked like he was Dan Foley, a former Clerk of Courts and a dem.
Here Are All Twelve Original Charges
From the official docket:
(2024 CR 01974) Foley docket 21 Nov 252024CR019…
- Attempted Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract
- Complicity to Commit Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract
- Complicity to Commit Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract
- Complicity to Commit Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract
- Unauthorized Use of Computer, Cable or Telecommunication Property
- Theft in Office
- Theft in Office involving $7,500
- Solicitation of Political Contributions from Public Employees
- Prohibition Against Partisan Political Activity
- Additional conduct tied to political solicitation
- Additional conduct tied to political solicitation
- Prohibited Political Activity (later renumbered and amended for trial)
These were serious charges. They targeted an elected official for abusing public power.
The case should have been handled with a level of professionalism reserved for public corruption.
Instead we got chaos.
The Full Timeline of Failure
Here is what the public was never shown in one place.
November 10, 2022
The Auditor raids the Clerk of Courts office and seizes IT systems.
2023
The investigation continues quietly. No charges. No public explanation. No urgency.
July 31, 2024
Foley is indicted on 12 counts.
Judge Jonathan P. Hein is assigned as the visiting judge.
He presides over every decision from this point forward.
August to December 2024
Discovery begins. Protective orders are issued. Suppression motions and Franks motions are filed. Many filings are sealed.
At no point does the State suggest that evidence is missing or unreadable.
The premise for sealing documents was Foley’s argument that one of the main whistleblowers, Tyler Starline, was an attorney, and therefore subject to “attorney client privilege” which was so legally faulty that it makes the Grand Canyon look like rolling meadows. This was finally debunked and reversed after the plea deal was illegally allowed to be withdrawn.
5 November 2024
Foley is re-elected Clerk of Courts while under indictment. The totally competent and ethical Lynn Cooper was passed over by uneducated and frankly, stupid Montgomery County voters.
March 2025
The trial date is vacated to prepare for suppression hearings.
May 2025
Montgomery County Municipal Court Judge James Piergies resigned as part of a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business and, in exchange, avoided felony charges related to an investigation into his son’s employment in the County Clerk of Courts office. The plea agreement included a 90-day suspended jail sentence, two years of community control, a $750 fine, and 75 hours of community service. Apparently the Ohio Code of Legal Conduct is actually followed, while the Ohio Constitution may as well be written on toilet paper- flush after one use.
June 16–17, 2025
Hearings/negotiations in secret conclude. Foley enters a no contest plea to two charges.
He is convicted of an Felony 5 and a Misdemeanor 1, and sentenced to community control and fines.
Under the law, this should vacate his office.
Note, before entering into a plea deal has more required questions than a mortgage contract, with the defendant having to swear repeatedly that they know and understand what they are doing and are of sound mind and body and not under any outside influence etc.
June 24, 2025
I file a Quo Warranto seeking his removal from office. This after I call every elected official who should have removed him from office and didn’t- and beg them to do their jobs.
July 2, 2025
In a abrupt u-turn, the plea is withdrawn, the sentence is vacated, filings are semi- un-sealed, and Foley is now awaiting a trial that’s been delayed over a year as if nothing happened. Judge Hein issued the ruling in record time: under 4 hours. He lowered the bar for the requirement of “Manifest injustice” so low that it endangers all plea deals in the future.
Judge gives credence to an argument that a judge and lawyers can negotiate an illegal contract that promises no “collateral damage” from a plea deal that admits to a felony in public office.
July to October 2025
Hearings are rescheduled. Trial dates move repeatedly. The court of appeals keeps stalling the Quo Warranto.
October 6, 2025
The State quietly dismisses Counts 1 through 7. These include all charges tied to Piergies’ son.
Sunday Oct 19 2025
Foley’s office sends out a “Murder Threat Press Release” on County systems suggesting that both his former employee Tyler Starline and I are out to murder him, He has an emergency hearing the next day in what is supposed to be a sealed docket and a closed courtroom. He let’s the TV cameras in. Judge won’t issue an emergency Civil Stalking Protection Order, and a hearing is set for the next week. Foley and his wife, theatrically perform about their fear for their lives.
Former Dem Party Chair Dennis Lieberman takes the case and asks for a continuance in the CSPO..Apparently Foley wasn’t as scared as he made out in court. Wednesday, November 12, the day before my scheduled hearing, Lieberman dismisses the cases against me and Starline. The CSPO distraction is over. I’m stuck with a rather large legal bill preparing for my defense.
November 2025
Nov 4, the court of appeals denies my Quo Warranto, ignoring the Ohio Constitution, 2 days later I file a motion for reconsideration for right to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. The stall begins.
BOMBSHELL REVELATION: In mid November 2025, the entire case collapsed further when the State admitted that it had failed to provide thousands of pages of digital evidence seized from the Clerk of Courts office. Judge Hein noted that “the genesis of the request is the apparent failure of the State to provide additional forensic materials” that included “approximately 1,200 emails and 1,450 pages of forensic reports” that “had not been made available to the Defendant until recent days.” He wrote that it was “perplexing” that the files could not even be opened using “widely-available software” and instead required “specialized software and high-processing-power computers” along with “specialized expertise.” Even more astonishing, the judge recorded that “both the State and the Defendant admitted not being aware of the precise nature of the files, including whether it contains incriminating materials, exculpatory materials, both materials or neither.” No one could explain how this happened. Hein stated plainly that “the mechanics for the failure are unknown” and that counsel “agree that the failure was an inadvertent one.” As a result of the State’s own failure, the court ordered that the prosecution is “prohibited from introducing any evidence” that was not properly and timely disclosed, effectively neutralizing its own case.
The State had these files since the 2022 raid.
They had almost three years.
Their excuse is not credible.
The defense uses the late discovery to request another trial delay.
The State does not oppose.
Judge Hein refuses only because the case has already blown every deadline.
The judge bars the State from using the undisclosed evidence. The prosecution guts its own case.
The indictment is amended twice because it was defective from the start.
The case limps toward a December 8 trial date or another plea deal, or a dismissal.
What’s guaranteed is that whatever clown show they put on in Court on Dec 8, it will have a built in out for a mistrial at this point.
This is not justice.
This is collapse of all checks and balances.
At This Point, Disbarment Should Be On The Table
There is enough documented negligence, incompetence, and procedural abuse to justify disciplinary review of every attorney involved.
The prosecutors
For failing to manage discovery.
For producing unreadable evidence after years.
For dismissing charges tied to judicial conflicts.
For negotiating a plea, then undoing it the moment it became politically inconvenient.
The defense attorney
For participating in a plea withdrawal that benefited the defendant and the political machine more than justice. His claims of manifest injustice were based on a view of “contract law” that was basically saying he, and the prosecutor along with the judge made a “contract” that Foley would suffer no “collateral damage” no matter that the agreement was illegal. You can’t negotiate away the Constitutions rules.
The judge
For presiding over a case marked by sealed filings, vanishing evidence, invalid indictments, and unexplained reversals.
The public has lost confidence in this process.
The bar should too.
Foley Should Already Be Removed Per the Quo Warrant
The June conviction triggered vacancy.
The rushed withdrawal cannot un-ring the bell.
The law exists to protect the public from precisely this kind of manipulation.
The Supreme Court of Ohio should step in and resolve the vacancy question now.
This Trial Should Be Restarted From Scratch
A real prosecution requires:
- New special prosecutors
- A new judge
- Complete forensic discovery in readable form
- A transparent timeline
- No sealed filings except where legally required
- All the charges
The present case cannot deliver justice.
It can only deliver embarrassment or grounds for endless appeals.
Conclusion
The Foley case no longer looks like a criminal prosecution.
It looks like a political containment operation conducted inside the backroom of a courthouse.
A raided county office.
A hired judge’s unqualified son.
A defendant re-elected after indictment.
An indicted judge retiring overnight with a plea deal..
A plea entered, then withdrawn the moment removal became likely.
Years of missing discovery suddenly appearing unreadable.
Half the charges dismissed in silence.
A visiting judge who oversaw the entire deterioration.
A prosecution that now seems unwilling or unable to try its own case.
The people of Montgomery County deserve far better than this.
It is time for disbarment.
It is time for removal.
It is time for a complete restart of this case with lawyers and judges who understand that their duty is to the rule of law, not political preservation.
Where Do We Go From Here
Montgomery County cannot wait for this system to miraculously fix itself. The people responsible for this mess have shown they will not act unless forced. The prosecutors are compromised. The defense is playing for time. The judge has already bent the law to accommodate a political narrative. The appeals court is dragging its feet. The Supreme Court of Ohio remains silent. The only clear authority left is the Attorney General, and so far that office has chosen to stand offstage and pretend none of this is its responsibility.
And now the stakes are even higher. If they push forward with this trial using an indictment that has already been amended twice, with evidence excluded due to State negligence, with massive undisclosed forensic files, and under the supervision of a judge who has already made questionable rulings, they are creating a perfect defense record for:
- mistrial
- ineffective assistance of counsel claims
- prosecutorial misconduct claims
- newly discovered evidence claims
- structural error claims
- double jeopardy claims
- appeals that will drag for years
This case is now so procedurally compromised that if they try him and screw up, the next trial may be constitutionally barred. Double jeopardy attaches once the jury is sworn. A botched prosecution now does not just fail to deliver justice today. It prevents justice forever.
A case this corrupted cannot be salvaged by pretending everything is normal. The people of Montgomery County deserve prosecutors who know how to manage evidence, judges who understand the Constitution, and elected officials who are removed from office when they break the law. The path forward is clear. The Attorney General must intervene. The case must be rebuilt from the ground up. Foley must finally be held to the same laws as everyone else.
If the State of Ohio cannot deliver that, then it is not just the Foley case that is rotten. It is the entire system that allowed this to happen.
SONG: The Day Justice Died by David Esrati
Per the docket, trial is still on in 11 days (12/8/2025). Judge Hein denied Mike Foley’s request to continue it for the umpteenth time. Now he is fighting over a new indictment correction constituting a single word. The decision to deny Foley’s trial continuance request is interesting (filed 11/20/2025). It makes no sense why documents originating from the Clerk of Court’s own computers cannot be opened, reviewed, accessed by the State, Judge Hein, Clerk Foley, and staff. Why? Doesn’t Foley have an IT guy to sort it? Yes, of course Foley has an IT guy – and a dept. What do we have here – a manifest injustice, a miscarriage of justice, or something else? Judge Hein’s Decision denying Foley’s request to continue trial: “This matter came before the Court upon the Defendant’s motion filed November 1, 2025 which seeks a continuance of the jury trial set to commence on December 8, 2025. In the interests of expediency, as requested by counsel for both parties, the matter was discussed informally. The State declined to file any written response but did not oppose the request. . The genesis of the request is the apparent failure of the State to provide additional forensic materials originating from computers within the Office of the Clerk of Courts. Generally described, there are approximately 1,200 emails and 1,450 pages of forensic reports which were recently discovered to have not been made available to the Defendant until recent days. Perplexing in this quandary is the apparent inability of the computer files to be opened and viewed using widely-available software. . The Court was advised that specialized software and high-processing power computers are needed along with specialized expertise. Both the State and the Defendant admitted not being aware of the precise nature of the files, including whether it contains incriminating materials, exculpatory materials, both materials or neither. Both are uncertain what is necessary to resolve this problem. . What was not explained to the Court, and uncertain to counsel, is the reason the failure of discover occurred. Counsel agree that the mechanics for the failure are unknown. Did… Read more »
.
?Competing against the request for continuance are the following factors: (1) numerous prior trial continuances; (2) the Defendant’s right to a prompt adjudication of his case within the comforts of the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof upon the State; (3) the public’s right to an outcome; (4) the limited resources available to the Courts and the need for case resolutions; and (5) expectations for case disposition within Case Management Guidelines promulgated by The Supreme Court of Ohio – which have run their course.
.
Regarding the request for continuance, the Court notes that this case was filed July, 2024. Trial dates have been set on at least four occasions with continuances granted to allow for evidentiary hearings. This current trial date was set on August 12, 2025. When considering the above factors, the Court finds that the Defendant’s motion for continuance will be denied.
.
The case will proceed to trial as scheduled with the proviso that the State of Ohio is prohibited from introducing any evidence (direct and cross examination) that was not properly and timely provided to the Defendant. Relatedly, counsel for the Defendant will need to bring to the Court’s attention during trial those evidentiary materials arguably outside this parameter.
.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND DECREED that the Defendant’s motion for continuance is denied. This matter remains scheduled for trial as previously ordered.”
Behold, the US Ambassador to Greece, the Queen of Darkness, at a Thanksgiving function!
https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3m6kqyczpgk2j
I move to remove.
This is how you spent your Thanksgiving.
…this is how the other guy spent his…
https://bsky.app/profile/fascisthunter99.bsky.social/post/3m6p52dqavc2k
…let’s break this down so we understand what he means…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Erl700U7Q4
…if we’re heading for the immigrant returns counter, let’s start with Melania & her dad…
I wonder how far back we have to go. Isn’t Jones a Welsh name, Davey?
Trump’s own Spox KKKaroline Leavitt has the mother of her brother’s child lined up for deportation and currently in ICE detention in LA. Just like the Nazis, they want families to turn their own flesh and blood in for extermination. Go figure…
I think Donald Trump’s just angry because the DC Afghan shooter was approved for asylum by his own administration and the blame for all of it is on him. DJT doesn’t like blame of any sort and always shifts it to others. DOJ alkie Jeanine Pirro, who’s own hubby Al Pirro was criminally pardoned by Trump, is really blowing it today.
https://bsky.app/profile/fascisthunter99.bsky.social/post/3m6nx2fanzk2v
Face it, most everything Trump touches dies in the end…
Jesus, David, the work you’ve done is incredible.