Husted met with FirstEnergy figures as bribery scheme unfolded

A review of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s calendar shows that he took several meetings in 2019 with individuals linked to the FirstEnergy bribery scandal, a scheme that has already sent one state lawmaker to prison.

In 2020, federal prosecutors accused FirstEnergy, an electric utility company based in Akron, of funneling $60 million through dark-money groups to five Republican officials. Those officials then championed House Bill 6 (HB 6), a controversial law that hiked utility rates to fund a $1.3 billion bailout of two nuclear power plants owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.

Husted was serving as lieutenant governor when he held the meetings, several of which appear to have been about HB 6. He has strenuously denied any knowledge of the scheme, despite text messages, phone calls, and now meetings that show he was in close contact with many of the key figures involved as the froth was churning.

One of those figures was Sam Randazzo, then-chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, who prosecutors allege was a recipient of bribe money. Husted’s calendar includes a phone meeting with Randazzo on April 10, 2019, two days before HB 6 was introduced in the state House. The men met again on June 7 of that year, the day after the legislation was sent to the state Senate.

Randazzo said during his confirmation hearing that Husted personally recruited him to lead the Public Utilities Commission. A federal grand jury indicted Randazzo in 2023 for his role in the FirstEnergy scheme. Those charges were vacated following Randazzo’s death by suicide in 2024.

On May 10, 2019, Husted met with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Dan McCarthy, the governor’s legislative affairs director. McCarthy was a lobbyist for FirstEnergy before joining DeWine’s administration. He reportedly helped launch one of the dark-money groups the company used to funnel bribe money.

Husted’s calendar described the gathering as a “legal meeting.”

DeWine signed HB 6 into law in July 2019. The utility rate hike triggered outrage and a push for a referendum to repeal the law. Husted met with Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on August 29, 2019, the day the ballot language for the referendum was officially certified.

Prosecutors say Householder was the architect of the entire scheme and a recipient of the bribe money. He is now serving a 20-year prison sentence on federal racketeering charges and is currently on trial for state charges related to the same matter.

Less than a month after meeting with Householder, Husted met with FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones as the company was pressuring the state Supreme Court to block the referendum. Jones was CEO when the bribery scheme was hatched. He is currently on trial as well.

Jones and Householder both deny any wrongdoing.

Husted’s calendar shows three other meetings on “nuclear subsidies” between April and June 2019. It is not clear who these meetings were with.

Democratic state Sen. Kent Smith told News 5 Cleveland that these meetings make at least one thing clear about Husted: “He’s always been an advocate for FirstEnergy.”

The referendum to repeal HB 6 did not get enough signatures to appear on the ballot. State lawmakers are now working to repeal the law legislatively following revelations of the bribery scandal.

Husted was appointed to the U.S. Senate last year to fill the seat vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance. He is running for his first full term this year.

Thus far, FirstEnergy has paid $330 million to the federal government in penalties for the scheme. Last year, the company was ordered to refund $186 million to customers affected by the rate hike.