Category: News

News 5 Cleveland: “Next week, the defense is set to call Senator Jon Husted to the stand… [Morgan Trau] is asking why Senator Husted may not be able to testify in Ohio, but can campaign here”

Ohio families paying $663 more a year on electric bills thanks to Husted

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In case you missed it, Senator Jon Husted is under fire for refusing to testify in person to explain his role in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. Husted was at the center of the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history,  which delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities and contributed to energy rates for Ohioans increasing by $663 a year.

Husted’s lawyers claimed he must remain in Washington due to the “outbreak of war in Iran.” That excuse fell flat when he was spotted traveling through airports in both Washington and Columbus to attend a swanky fundraiser where tickets went for as high as $1,000.

Husted has already been mentioned more than 100 times during the corruption trial as new developments continue to surface, including phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives.

What Ohioans are reading about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal: 

News 5 Cleveland: Sen. Husted can’t testify in person in corruption trial due to ‘Iran War,’ but did come to Ohio for fundraiser

• U.S. Sen. Jon Husted can’t leave Washington, D.C., to testify in the largest public corruption trial in Ohio history due to the “Iran war,” the defense attorneys said, but did find time to return to the state to attend a fundraiser.

• Our previous investigations have shown that FirstEnergy executives say that then-Lt. Gov. Husted worked closely with them to pass H.B. 6 in 2019, after they helped fund his campaign.

• But Husted, who doesn’t sit on any committees related to safety, military or foreign affairs, can’t find time to return to Ohio to testify, according to Grimes and the defense. Well, he did.

• “Senator Husted, are you flying home to testify?” a woman can be heard asking on a cell phone video, which can be watched in the player at the top of this article.

• The woman, who does not work for an Ohio politician or candidate, showed the senator getting into the security line at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C. on Thursday.

• In another video sent to us, a man found Husted walking in the John Glenn Columbus International Airport that same evening. The senator ignored the Ohioan, who repeatedly asked about FirstEnergy.

• We discovered that the senator is set to attend a fundraiser on Friday. Husted is the keynote speaker at the Greene County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, where tickets were up to $1,000.

Ohio Capital Journal: Husted can’t testify in person in corruption trial due to Iran war, but came to Ohio for fundraiser

• Our previous investigations have shown that FirstEnergy executives say that then-Lt. Gov. Husted worked closely with them to pass H.B. 6 in 2019, after they helped fund his campaign.

• But the senator’s testimony won’t be at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. It will be hundreds of miles away.

• “Given the war, his availability is not great,” Dowling’s defense attorney Steve Grimes said in court.

• “[He should] explain to Ohioans what he means by unavailable or dealing with the war, if he’s in fact here in the state raising money for his embattled Senate campaign,” state Sen. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, said. “It’s despicable, and I can’t think of a more significant breach of trust.”

• Weinstein was a state witness in the trial and believes that Husted just doesn’t want to deal with the publicity.

• “I’m not surprised he doesn’t want to show up in person,” the lawmaker said. “He’s so deeply intertwined in this whole case, but it’s incredibly disappointing.”

Heartland Signal: Jon Husted won’t testify in person for FirstEnergy trial, but he’s flying to Ohio for a fundraiser.

• A judge ordered Wednesday that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) must testify in the FirstEnergy bribery trial. 

• Lawyers claimed he cannot attend in person because he needs to be in Washington D.C. due to the ongoing war with Iran. However, he traveled to Ohio to attend a fundraiser on Friday.

• Husted’s office did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the news of his testimony or clarify why he was traveling to Ohio while Dowling’s lawyers are claiming that he needs to be in Washington.

• Husted’s calendar shows he met with Randazzo days before HB 6 was introduced in the state legislature.

• Husted also had nine phone calls with Jones after he was elected. Jones’ text messages also suggest Husted was acting on FirstEnergy’s behalf to pass HB 6.

TiffinOhio.net: Husted ‘can’t testify’ in corruption trial in person, but flew home for $1,000-a-plate fundraiser

• Defense attorneys told a Summit County judge that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted couldn’t leave Washington to testify in person in Ohio’s largest public corruption trial because of the military campaign against Iran. Then he flew home for a fundraiser.

• Video obtained by WEWS showed Husted in the security line at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday. A separate video showed him walking through John Glenn Columbus International Airport the same evening. 

• He was scheduled to serve as keynote speaker Friday at the Greene County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, where tickets were priced as high as $1,000.

• He was called as a defense witness, not a prosecution witness.

• Husted’s name has come up more than 100 times during the trial, which cited phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives.

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The post ICYMI: Jon Husted Under Fire For Dodging Testimony in FirstEnergy Criminal Corruption Trial appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

WEWS: “Next week, the defense is set to call Senator Jon Husted to the stand… Tonight [Morgan Trau] is asking why Senator Husted may not be able to testify in Ohio, but can campaign here”

Husted refuses to testify in person despite returning to Ohio for a fundraiser

Ohio families paying $663 more a year on electric bills thanks to Husted

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a stunning new development in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, Senator Jon Husted is now expected to testify next week in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. Husted played a key role in the bribery scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities and contributed to energy rates for Ohioans increasing by $663 a year.

WATCH HERE:

Despite being called to testify, Husted is refusing to appear in person to explain his role in the scandal, with his lawyers claiming he must remain in Washington due to the “outbreak of war in Iran.” But Husted’s excuse is already falling flat as he was spotted traveling through airports in both Washington and Columbus, on the way to a swanky fundraiser where tickets go for as high as $1,000.

Husted has already been mentioned more than 100 times during the corruption trial as new developments continue to surface, including phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted has been mentioned more than 100 times in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history — and now that he’s finally being called to testify, he is refusing to show up in person to answer for his role in the scandal. Ohioans deserve to know why Jon Husted sold them out to a big utility company and left families paying hundreds more each year on their energy bills.”

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

• Jon Husted played a central role “running the show” in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history that is costing Ohioans $663 more a year.

• New evidence revealed nine calls between Jon Husted and Mike Dowling in the months preceding a $4.3 million bribe to former Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• New reporting revealed Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”

• Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”

• Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”

• Indicted FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said Husted was a “good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the massive bail out.

• Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had dinner with Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus.

• Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a dark money group backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal and state indictments.

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The post BOMBSHELL VIDEO: Jon Husted Called To Testify in FirstEnergy Criminal Corruption Trial appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Columbus, Ohio- Gas prices in Ohio have jumped by more than 64 cents per gallon in just over a week, the second highest spike in the country. Meanwhile, Vivek Ramaswamy has said that gas prices are actually lower and “perceived” rising costs are just in Ohioans’ imaginations. 

Working families are already struggling to keep up with sky-high costs at the grocery store, the doctor’s office, and now the gas station. Costs are too high, and Vivek Ramaswamy will do nothing to bring down the cost of living that is making life difficult for Ohio families.

“While Vivek Ramaswamy is busy flying around in his private jet telling working families that rising costs are only in their imaginations, Ohioans down on the ground stopping for gas at the Goasis are facing sticker shock once again,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “If Ramaswamy can’t even admit that costs are going up, why would we ever trust him to make life more affordable for the rest of us?”

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The post As Ohio Drivers Face “Massive” Surge in Gas Prices “Not Seen in Years,” Vivek Ramaswamy Thinks They’re Just Imagining It appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

DeWine Called Vivek’s Tax Scheme “Absolutely Devastating”

Columbus, Ohio – Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to end property and income taxes on day one of his campaign and more recently invited an activist group working to pass this signature proposal into his home. Ramaswamy’s day one promise to implement a tax on working families would be devastating for Ohioans already struggling to make ends meet. 

Ramaswamy’s tax on working families would raise costs across the board for working families. Ohioans would pay even more at the grocery store after Ramaswamy’s 18% sales tax and keep less of the money they earn after his 15% income tax. For a $30,000 car, the sales tax would jump by $1,725 and the tax for a $1,300 refrigerator would jump from $75 to $234.

Even Republican Governor Mike DeWine said Ramaswamy’s plans would be “absolutely devastating” for working families. Ohio would be in a “huge crisis” if Ramaswamy’s plan became law and could wind up with an “astronomical” income tax rate that  is “by far the highest” in the country, said DeWine.

“At a time when Ohio families are already struggling with rising costs, Ramaswamy is entertaining house calls from fringe activists working to skyrocket costs for working families, and has signaled he would implement the same devastating policies as governor,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ramaswamy’s proposals are on brand for a billionaire who called Ohioans lazy, told families struggling with costs to just earn more, and said the ‘perceived’ rising cost of living was just in Ohioans’ imaginations while flying over them in a private jet.”

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The post Vivek Ramaswamy’s Day One Campaign Promise Would Skyrocket Costs for Ohio Families   appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Husted backs prolonged war in the Middle East, has no solutions to cost of living crisis in Ohio

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, Jon Husted voted in support of the Administration’s military actions in Iran, backing an expensive foreign intervention in the Middle East that risks American lives and has no end in sight.

Meanwhile, Husted has no solutions for Ohioans struggling with skyrocketing health care premiums, grocery bills, and utility costs. Instead, he has dismissed the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to “fix their work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Ohioans are struggling to afford everything from health care to groceries to utility bills, but Jon Husted would put money towards risking American lives overseas in another forever war in the Middle East. Ohio families need a Senator focused on making their lives more affordable — not enabling an expensive and unnecessary foreign war.”

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The post VOTE ALERT: Jon Husted Prioritizes Endless Foreign Conflicts Over Lowering Costs for Ohioans appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

Toledo, Ohio — Last week, Ohioans in Toledo called out Senator Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files.

The rally in Toledo follows mounting criticism from across the state. Earlier in the month, Ohioans protested outside Husted’s Columbus office, calling on him to return all the contributions from the Epstein co-conspirator. Ohioans in Norwalk also called out Husted for being a “pedophile protector,” and Husted declined to answer questions — instead turning his head and refusing to respond.

Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

See for yourself: 

WTOL: Ohioans protest outside Husted’s Toledo office over donations tied to Les Wexner

• WTOL Anchor: Several people gathered in protest today against Senator Jon Husted outside of his office in downtown Toledo. The protesters say they are calling out Senator Husted for accepting more than $116,000 in donations from Les Wexner, a suspected associate of Jeffrey Epstein.

• Lisa Sobecki, Lucas County Commissioner: I think it’s important that people’s voices are being heard on this, because I am a grandmother of a daughter. I’m a survivor, a rape survivor. I’ve met with many that are rape survivors. I’ve met with many that have been trafficked, and this to me just shows them that we’re not going to just sweep this under the rug and ignore it.

Toledo Blade: Demonstrators stage protest outside U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Toledo office

• Participants condemned Mr. Husted, citing news reports that he has accepted $116,000 in campaign contributions throughout his political career from Columbus businessman and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner. Mr. Wexner has been tied to Epstein.

• The news conference was led by Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobecki, a Democrat who at one point made a passing reference to when she was raped in her 20s.

• “I really wish we didn’t have to be here in these times, having these conversations,” Ms. Sobecki said. “We have an election coming up soon. And we should be electing folks that aren’t going to be supporting people that support people that are pedophiles.”

• “To be quite honest, I’m really disappointed to be here today. I’m disappointed that it takes this [demonstration] to implore our elected officials to do the right thing,” said Elle Cotterman, an Ottawa Hills mother of three who also holds a degree from Ohio State University’s college of engineering.

• She and others noted that he initially voted to block the Epstein files in July, then voted to release them after President Trump instructed lawmakers to do so.

• Neither Mr. Husted nor his campaign spokesman responded to repeated requests for comment.

WTOL: Ohioans protest outside Husted’s Toledo office over donations tied to Les Wexner

• Protesters gathered outside U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Toledo office Thursday, calling on him to return more than $116,000 in campaign contributions they say he received from Les Wexner, who has been described as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein.

• During Thursday’s rally, demonstrators questioned why Husted has not returned the full amount. Organizers claim the senator previously said he would give Wexner’s money back but has so far returned only $18,900, roughly 17% of the total, while keeping the remaining $98,000.

• Protesters asked why a portion of the money was deemed problematic but not the rest, and accused Husted of avoiding accountability. The group also questioned why he has not responded publicly to their concerns.

• The Toledo protest follows similar demonstrations at Husted’s Columbus office last week. Organizers say residents in Norwalk also confronted the senator, alleging he declined to answer questions.

• Husted’s office did not immediately respond to WTOL 11’s requests for comment Thursday.

Stay Tuned Sandusky: Coffee House patron calls Sen. Jon Husted a ‘pedo protector’

• Husted was appearing with Huron County Commissioner Harry Brady on Tuesday when the carefully managed atmosphere evaporated. 

• As Husted moved through the coffee house, a patron called out, “You’re a pedo protector.” Husted did not respond. 

• While the Reflector and the Register reported on the outburst, the event was far from open. No other media outlets were invited, and Husted’s office has continued a policy of blacklisting local news, refusing to place StayTunedSandusky.com on its press lists or schedules.

• The “pedo protector” shout points directly to the growing firestorm over Husted’s ties to Ohio billionaire Les Wexner. The confrontation occurred just as Wexner was being deposed by a House committee over his decades-long association with Jeffrey Epstein.

• During that testimony, it was revealed that Wexner funneled over $116,000 into Husted’s various campaigns. Husted’s office announced he would donate his most recent Wexner contributions to a human trafficking charity. 

• The timing is telling: the “charity” move only happened after the Norwalk confrontation and the release of unredacted FBI files labeling Wexner a “co-conspirator,” which made Wexner and his money a political liability.

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Husted at center of ongoing FirstEnergy corruption trial, mentioned more than 100 times

Columbus, Ohio — New reporting reveals that Senator Jon Husted “led the charge” to pass HB 6, the scandal-ridden bribery legislation that has contributed to Ohioans’ electric bills, rising by an average of more than $660 since the bailout passed in 2019.

As the FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial continues, Husted’s ties to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history continue to deepen — with new phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings placing him at the center of the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

Read more about the latest revelation on Husted’s role in the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal: 

TiffinOhio.net: Husted backed the corrupt HB 6 bailout. Ohio households now pay $663 more a year.

• U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who is running to keep his Senate seat in Ohio’s 2026 special election, allegedly played a central role in passing a utility bailout law that sits at the heart of the state’s largest-ever corruption scandal — and that has contributed to Ohio households paying $663 more per year for electricity in the years since.

• The financial toll is direct and documented. When House Bill 6 took effect in October 2019, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio recorded the average monthly residential electric bill at $89.19 — $1,070.28 annually. By January 2026, that figure had climbed to $144.47 per month, or $1,733.64 per year. The difference: $55.28 per month, $663.36 per year.

• Text messages and internal emails released in 2024 show that Husted allegedly led the charge with now-indicted FirstEnergy executives to pass the bill, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

• A FirstEnergy email stated that Gov. Mike DeWine “left the details of H.B. 6 to others — John [sic] Husted and Danny,” referring to Husted and Dan McCarthy, DeWine’s legislative director and a former FirstEnergy lobbyist.

• House Bill 6 passed in 2019 and authorized a $1 billion ratepayer-funded bailout of the state’s nuclear power industry, with monthly surcharges paid by every Ohio residential electricity customer. 

• Federal authorities later revealed it was secured through a nearly $61 million bribery scheme — described by U.S. Attorney David DeVillers as “the largest bribery money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”

• HB 6 required Ohio residential utility customers to pay a monthly surcharge of between $1.30 and $1.50 […]. From 2020 through August 14, 2025, Ohioans paid $527,808,043 in OVEC subsidies specifically under HB 6’s Legacy Generation Rider.

• According to PUCO’s January 2026 Unit Costs data, the average Ohio household now pays $144.47 per month for electricity — $1,733.64 annually, based on the commission’s standard estimate of 750 kilowatt hours of monthly residential usage. 

• When HB 6 took effect in October 2019, that same household paid $89.19 per month, or $1,070.28 per year.

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

• New evidence at trial revealed nine calls between Jon Husted and Mike Dowling in the months preceding a $4.3 million bribe to former Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• New reporting reveals Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”

• Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”

• Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”

• Indicted FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said Husted was a “good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the massive bail out.

• Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had a dinner with FirstEnergy executives Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus that has become a focal point of the current criminal trial.

• Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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The post WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING: ‘Husted backed the corrupt HB 6 bailout. Ohio households now pay $663 more a year.’ appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

REPORTING: Husted Took $116,892 From Les Wexner, Including A Max Donation Just A Few Weeks Before Blocking Epstein Files Release

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

Toledo, Ohio — Today, Ohioans called out Senator Jon Husted outside his Toledo office for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. 

Ohioans demanded answers to questions that Jon Husted refuses to answer:

• Jon Husted said he was giving Les Wexner’s money back, but now he’s keeping 83% of the money. Why did Husted lie?

• If the $18,900 Husted took from Les Wexner was a problem, why wasn’t the other $98,000? 

• Why won’t Jon Husted return all the money? Does returning 17% of the campaign contributions Husted received from an Epstein co-conspirator make keeping the rest okay?

• What else is Jon Husted hiding? This shows Jon Husted can be bought and cannot be trusted. 

The rally in Toledo follows mounting criticism from across the state. Last week, Ohioans protested outside Husted’s Columbus office, calling on him to return all the contributions from the Epstein co-conspirator. Ohioans in Norwalk also called out Husted for being a “pedophile protector,” and Husted declined to answer questions — instead turning his head and refusing to respond.

Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

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Columbus, Ohio – More than a week has passed since reporting revealed billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy accepted a $500 contribution from a Nazi reenactor, and Ramaswamy is still silent. Despite repeated requests for comment, Ramaswamy has not indicated plans to return the funds.

READ: Vivek Ramaswamy silent after taking $500 from Nazi reenactor

• Vivek Ramaswamy’s Ohio gubernatorial campaign accepted a $500 donation from Richard Iott, a former Republican congressional candidate whose 2010 House bid collapsed after photographs emerged showing him wearing a Nazi SS Waffen uniform — and the campaign has still said nothing about it.

• Campaign finance disclosure records first reported by the Daily Mail show the donation was made on Aug. 15. Ramaswamy’s campaign has not responded to requests for comment, has issued no public statement, and has not indicated any plans to return the money.

• When contacted by The Atlantic at the time, Iott confirmed his participation in the Wiking reenactment group over several years. He said his interest was historical, not ideological, but added: “I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that here was a relatively small country that from a strictly military point of view accomplished incredible things. I mean, they took over most of Europe and Russia, and it really took the combined effort of the free world to defeat them. From a purely historical military point of view, that’s incredible.”

• Historians pushed back sharply on that framing. Charles W. Sydnor, Jr., a retired history professor and author of “Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death’s Head Division, 1933-45,” told The Atlantic the group held “a sanitized, romanticized view of what occurred.” Sydnor noted that SS reenactments are illegal in Germany and Austria. Prof. Rob Citino of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas said: “It sends a shiver up my spine to think that people want to dress up and play SS on the weekend.”

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Columbus, Ohio — Jon Husted reached a new milestone yesterday — his 100th mention in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. As the trial continues, Husted’s ties to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history continue to deepen. 

Throughout the trial, new phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings have surfaced between Husted and indicted FirstEnergy executives, underscoring Husted’s pivotal role in the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

Here are the latest revelations on Husted’s role in the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal: 

Heartland Signal: Jon Husted had deeper ties to Ohio’s largest bribery scandal than previously thought

• New reporting from News 5 Cleveland revealed that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) met with one of the architects of Ohio’s largest bribery scandal two days before bribery legislation was introduced in the state legislature.

• A public records request shows that Husted had a scheduled phone call with former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Chairman Sam Randazzo on April 6, 2019. Two days later, House Bill 6 was introduced in the Ohio legislature.

• HB 6 provided $1 billion in consumer-funded subsidies to FirstEnergy Corp., an electric utility company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. 

• In 2021, FirstEnergy admitted to federal prosecutors that it paid more than $60 million in bribes to Ohio officials to pass HB 6, including $4.3 million to Randazzo in January 2019.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Husted had 9 calls with FirstEnergy exec accused of bribery, records show

• U.S. Sen. Jon Husted talked with a FirstEnergy executive nine times around the time prosecutors say the executive and his boss paid a $4.3 million bribe to the man Husted and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine chose to lead the state’s energy regulatory body, trial testimony showed Friday.

• Husted’s calls came in late 2018 and early 2019, months after he was elected Ohio’s lieutenant governor on DeWine’s Republican ticket. That was around the time the two landed on appointing Sam Randazzo as the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

• Husted spoke for a total of 51 minutes with FirstEnergy’s then-top lobbyist, Michael Dowling, in the calls made from Nov. 19, 2018 through Jan. 24, 2019. Randazzo was appointed to the commission in February 2019 and began work in April of that year.

• The phone records were displayed and read into the record in the trial of Dowling and former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones.

Columbus Dispatch: DeWine, Husted messages to execs come into focus at FirstEnergy trial

• Jurors viewed text messages and emails on Feb. 19 showing that high-ranking elected Ohio officials worked behind the scenes to pass the $1.3 billion nuclear bailout — House Bill 6 — and appoint Sam Randazzo as Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chair.

• In another message, Dowling said DeWine and Husted performed “battlefield triage” to get Randazzo elected as PUCO chair.

• In the lead-up to July 23, 2019, when lawmakers approved HB 6, Dowling spoke to Husted, who wanted to extend the bailout.

MeidasTouch News: Husted Pushed Energy Bill at The Center of Largest Public Corruption Scandal in Ohio History

• While Lt. Governor, Republican U.S. Senator Jon Husted pushed for an energy bill in Ohio that was at the forefront of the biggest public corruption scandal in the state’s history.

• New reporting has revealed that Husted “helped lead the charge” to pass HB 6, with FirstEnergy executives writing to each other that Husted was “a good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the measure. 

• Even before coming to office, Husted had been “lobbying [Ohio Governor Mike] DeWine to support the [FirstEnergy] bailout” and was described by FirstEnergy’s CEO as “a good friend of FirstEnergy.”

• Then, according to Husted’s own calendar, on October 10th, 2019 Husted had a previously unscheduled call with Ohio Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• Randazzo is accused of authoring the bailout bill after taking millions in bribes from FirstEnergy. Randazzo had been appointed to his position by DeWine with the backing of Husted.

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

• New evidence at trial revealed nine calls between Jon Husted and Mike Dowling in the months preceding a $4.3 million bribe to former Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• New reporting reveals Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”

• Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”

• Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”

• Indicted FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said Husted was a “good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the massive bail out.

• Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had dinner with Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus.

• Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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