I’m watching the 2nd half of Dann’s press conference on The Dispatch’s website, and this is truly a day Dann would like to foget. He just admitted to the fair and is now taking questions from reporters asking if if the promotion his scheduler received was as a result of their sexual relationship.

I’ve been told that the rumors about Jenn Urban turned out to be correct. But I missed the first half of the press conference and will wait for the media coverage which will certainly come fast and furious later today.

I broke this story about Dann’s affair back in November and was criticized by many. I’m glad that I’ve been proven right, but I’m embarrassed along with the rest of the state of Ohio at the type of criminal activity and frat-house antics which took place in the Ohio attorney general’s office.

It isn’t a question of if Dann will resign… It is a question of when he will resign or be forced out of office.

Update at 11:59am: Those who fired/resigned were Jessica Utovitch, Leo Jennings, Ed Simpson and Anthony Gutierrez.

Update II: Dann at noon said: “I love my family, even though my conduct doesn’t necessarily support that.”

Update III at 2pm: Does anyone think it is odd how multiple people can be fired for acting like Marc Dann, but Dann won’t fire himself for acting like Marc Dann? The Ohio GOP thinks he should resign immediately. I could imagine that Democrat insiders who care about winning in 2010 and controlling the reapportionment board probably agree:

Marc Dann Must Resign

COLUMBUS - Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine today reacted to the press conference held by Attorney General Marc Dann:

“Marc Dann failed the people of Ohio, and he must resign immediately. The state’s top law enforcement officer has allowed immoral, unethical and even criminal behavior to thrive under his own supervision and at times with his own participation. He turned the attorney general’s office into a raunchy frat pad, lied to the press and lied to his own investigator. It’s simply not acceptable that everyone but Dann himself will be held accountable. I’m confident the voters will terminate Mr. Dann’s employment at the end of his disgraceful term if he does not do so himself sooner.

“Marc Dann has now exposed the taxpayers to potential litigation, and he should reimburse the state from his own pocket for that expense.

“Ohioans have been failed here by more than Marc Dann. This scandal exposes a very sad level of hypocrisy within the Ohio Democratic Party, whose leadership has done nothing to demand the higher standard and accountability they once promised.”

Media Updates:

The Tribune Chronicle calls on Dann to resign:

WARREN — The editorial board of the Tribune Chronicle announced Friday that it will call for Marc Dann’s resignation in an editorial to appear on its Web site today and in its Saturday print edition.

In October of 2006, the Tribune placed its support behind Marc Dann over Betty Montgomery in the race for Attorney General of Ohio. The newspaper’s editorial board said it believed that Dann’s tenacity made him the better candidate.

However, in light of announcements made during two press conferences today and the events that have transpired over the past month, the Tribune announced that it now apologizes for that endorsement.

Dann admitted an affair with a fellow employee. He publicly apologized to his wife and children.

Earlier today, Anthony Gutierrez was fired for violating the office’s sexual harassment policy, and Communications Chief Leo Jennings was fired for trying to get an office employee to lie under oath. Policy director Edgar Simpson was forced to resign because Simpson did not report inappropriate behavior in the office.

The Plain Dealer has a quote of Dann winning the award for most lame response to a public official having a sexual scandal that I’ve ever heard. Dann isn’t as good at talking about minimizing this stuff as Bill Clinton was, and this clanker of a statement is a prime example:

Dann’s affair with an employee may have violated his own office policy, but he said admitting to the affair was “adequate punishment in my mind.”

“I don’t know what it (the policy) says,” Dann said. “A consentual affair is not necessarily a violation of the sexual harassment policy in my office.”

According to The Dispatch, the two women who accused Anthony Gutierrez of sexual harassment feel vindicated but not aren’t satisified:

Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, the two women whose sexual harassment complaints triggered an internal investigation by the Ohio attorney general, talked exclusively with The Dispatch this morning immediately after being briefed on the report.

Stankoski and Stout said they felt vindicated by the findings and the recommendation that their former supervisor, Anthony Gutierrez, be fired, but didn’t feel the discipline goes far enough.

“I’m relieved,” Stankoski said. “I came here to start a career…I was once proud to say I worked for the attorney general. Now it’s become an embarrassment.”

Stout said she was “somewhat relieved” but didn’t feel the recommended discipline goes far enough. “This involved other people in the office.”

Both women said that Attorney General Marc Dann, a Democrat elected in 2006, contributed to the top-down “hostile work environment” that the report characterized.

“If it’s OK for him to do these things, then it’s OK for everybody else,” Stout said.