Every top Dem in state asks Dann to resign.

UPDATED: Congressional candidate and State Rep. Steve Driehaus - who would be invovled in any impeachment proceedings - has joined the call for Dann to resign:

Statement from State Representative Steve Driehaus

"It is time for Attorney General Marc Dann to resign. Previously, I had called on the Attorney General to cooperate with the investigation and the investigation now shows unacceptable behavior by the Attorney General and staff. I join Governor Strickland and elected Democrats across the state of Ohio in asking the Attorney General to do what is best for the state of Ohio and the Office of Attorney General by stepping down."

And while she's not a Democrat, she is from Greater Cincinnati:

"As Ohio's top law enforcement officer Marc Dann should indeed resign immediately" said Rep. Jean Schmidt.

And so did Schmidt's opponent:

Cincinnati – Democratic Candidate Dr. Victoria Wulsin issued this statement in response to Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann.

“Marc Dann’s behavior has tarnished the reputation of the Ohio Attorney General’s office. I join Governor Strickland and other Democrats, asking for his resignation.”





This story will be updating all day.

Meanwhile, here's the letter from Gov. Ted Strickland and Marc Dann's response.

Governor Ted Strickland, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Treasurer Richard Cordray, House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern called for Attorney General Marc Dann’s resignation last night.

The text of a letter sent to Attorney General Marc Dann last night, Sunday, May 4, 2008, follows:

Dear Attorney General Dann,

We write to you tonight to ask that you resign your position as Attorney General of the State of Ohio.

We believe that your actions have irreparably harmed your ability to effectively serve the people of our great state.

The work of the Office of the Attorney General matters more, and is far more important, than any one person. In many, many cases it is all that stands between the people and the powerful. Sadly, we no longer have even the most remote hope that you can continue to effectively serve as Attorney General and that is why we are asking for your resignation.

We also want to make you aware that if you do not choose to resign, Democratic members of the Ohio House of Representatives will immediately introduce a resolution seeking your impeachment. We sincerely hope that this action will not be necessary and that you will act in the best interest of the people of Ohio by tendering your resignation Monday morning.

Dann's response:

Below is the text of an e-mail sent today by Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann to all associates of his office.

All --

Last night, I received a call from Governor Strickland advising me that he and the other statewide Democratic office holders along with the minority leaders of the House and Senate were planning to ask me to resign today.

That letter has been sent.

I wanted to share with you what I told the Governor.

I told him that he and the other officeholders, as well as the members of the legislature, should continue to expect that we will continue to provide high-quality legal services to all of them. I told the Governor that we will continue to make our law enforcement partnerships work to protect the people of the State of Ohio.

I told him that our consumer protection and environmental protection and civil rights work will continue on behalf of the State of Oho

That is exactly what I am doing today. I am in the office, have rolled up my sleeves and am working on behalf of the people of State of Ohio.

I hope all of you will do the same.

I think that there is a great chance that we can continue to do great work for the people of the State.

I know that this is difficult, and I am truly sorry to have put all of you in this position. But our work is too important to do anything but our jobs today.

Marc Dann