Ohio Senator’s Meetings with FirstEnergy Figures Under Scrutiny
Records from 2019 reveal that Ohio Sen. Jon Husted had several meetings with individuals involved in the FirstEnergy bribery scandal, a case that has already led to imprisonment for one state legislator.
FirstEnergy, an Akron-based electric utility, was accused in 2020 by federal prosecutors of channeling $60 million through dark-money groups to five Republican officials. These officials supported House Bill 6 (HB 6), a contentious law that increased utility rates to support a $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear power plants owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.
While serving as lieutenant governor, Husted participated in meetings that seemingly focused on HB 6. He has strongly denied any involvement in the scheme, despite text messages, phone calls, and meetings indicating his close contact with key figures as the scandal unfolded.
Among these figures was Sam Randazzo, then-chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, whom prosecutors claim received bribe money. Husted’s schedule notes a phone meeting with Randazzo on April 10, 2019, just two days before HB 6 was introduced in the state House, followed by another meeting on June 7, 2019, a day after the bill reached the state Senate.
Randazzo had stated during his confirmation hearing that Husted personally recruited him for his position. Though Randazzo was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2023, the charges were vacated following his suicide in 2024.
On May 10, 2019, Husted met with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Dan McCarthy, the governor’s legislative affairs director. McCarthy, who had lobbied for FirstEnergy prior to his role in DeWine’s administration, was reported to have aided in establishing one of the dark-money groups used to channel bribes.
Husted’s calendar labeled this meeting as a “legal meeting.”
Gov. DeWine signed HB 6 into law in July 2019, sparking public outrage and attempts to repeal it through a referendum. Husted also met with Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on August 29, 2019, the day the referendum’s ballot language was certified.
Prosecutors have labeled Householder as the mastermind behind the scheme and a bribe recipient. He is now serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for racketeering and is on trial for related state charges.
Less than a month after this meeting, Husted met FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones, as the company sought to persuade the state Supreme Court to block the referendum. Jones, who was CEO during the scandal’s development, is also facing trial.
Both Jones and Householder have denied any misconduct.
Husted’s calendar additionally notes three other meetings concerning “nuclear subsidies” between April and June of 2019, though their participants remain unspecified.
Democratic state Sen. Kent Smith commented to News 5 Cleveland, stating, “He’s always been an advocate for FirstEnergy.”
The effort to repeal HB 6 via referendum failed to gather enough signatures. Legislators are now pursuing the law’s repeal through legislative measures, following the bribery revelations.
Appointed to the U.S. Senate last year to replace Vice President J.D. Vance, Husted is currently campaigning for a full term.
FirstEnergy has paid $330 million in federal penalties for the scheme and was ordered last year to return $186 million to customers impacted by the rate increases.
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