COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — As he seeks to retain his U.S. Senate seat this fall, Ohio Republican John Husted cannot escape the shadow of a $60 million bribery scandal that has rocked state politics for more than five years.
Husted was recently called to testify as a defense witness in the related criminal cases of two former energy executives, testimony he may have to retell after a hung jury in March led to a mistrial in the case. A judge in Akron scheduled a retrial for Sept. 28, meaning Husted could return to the witness stand a week before early voting begins for the November election.
The former lieutenant governor and Ohio secretary of state has never been charged or accused of any wrongdoing. But the vast public record emerging from the scandal has raised questions about Husted’s dealings with key players accused or imprisoned in the scheme, which revolved around legislative approval of a $1 billion bailout for the state’s two nuclear power plants.
It’s too early to know whether Husted’s connection to the trial will be a political liability for the first-term senator, who is expected to face Democrat Sherrod Brown, who was ousted from the Senate in 2024, in the fall.
In a possible sign of concern, Senate Republicans’ main super political action committee, the Senate Leadership Fund, recently announced plans to spend $79 million on Husted’s behalf. That’s about a quarter of its planned national spending in eight hotly contested Senate races.
Husted says he had no role in the bailout bill
Asked what role he played in the 2022 bailout legislation known as House Bill 6, Husted replied, “None.” Even though the evidence revealed in the incident has raised questions about his involvement, he has repeated that stance many times.
Husted’s calendars, which came to light during a recent trial involving executives for Akron-based FirstEnergy, the utility, showed several additional meetings or phone calls he had with former CEO Chuck Jones, the state’s former top utility regulator, who has since died, and then-Ohio House Speaker House Laur. They formed a triangle of influence at the heart of the scheme laid out by federal prosecutors. Husted’s calendars were obtained by the Ohio Capital Journal through a public records request and reviewed by The Associated Press.
Jones and former FirstEnergy lobbyist Michael Dowling were indicted for their alleged roles in the bribery scandal and will be tried again in the fall. Landlord is serving 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2023 to orchestrating the scheme, which FirstEnergy admitted to underwriting.
The interactions noted in Husted’s calendar were around the time the bailout bill was developed and passed. Evidence presented in various cases showed Jones and Dowling discussing Husted’s push for more subsidies in the legislation.
Husted has consistently denied playing a role in drafting the legislation and having any knowledge of criminal activity surrounding the bill.
In an NBC4 interview in January, Husted said, “My role was very clear. I want nuclear power plants to stay in operation.” He said it was about “keeping those plants open and keeping the lights on for millions of Ohioans.”
Husted references a text exchange about subsidy negotiations
In June 2019, Jones texted Downing screenshots of a conversation with Householder in which Husted suggested he was working on behalf of FirstEnergy to extend the term of nuclear plant subsidies from six years to 10 years.
Jones urged the landlord to “negotiate hard” for the 10-year subsidy or he will be forced to revisit the issue before his speakership ends. “Ugh, that adds up to $600M,” Landlord wrote of the previously unreported additional amount. The bill calls for Ohio ratepayers to be charged $150 million annually in nuclear subsidies.
“Husted called me 2 nights ago and was supposed to bring it up to the Senate version,” Jones replied.
“He’s not a legislator,” the gentleman replied about Husted, who was lieutenant governor at the time.
“I know but he said the Senate leaders would listen,” Jones replied. “He didn’t deliver.”
The texts were part of the evidence gathered in the gentleman’s criminal trial. When Husted was asked about the exchange earlier, he is adamant that they don’t prove he was part of the deal-making.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We weren’t involved,” Husted said when asked about the lessons at an unrelated news conference in 2024. “Texts to other people – texts to other people – texts that are shared between them – have nothing to do with me. And I wasn’t involved in that conversation.”
Surface utility donations to benefit Husted cases
A longtime Ohio lobbyist told federal agents that FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions, a subsidiary that helped build nuclear power plants with bailouts, funneled dark money to nonprofits that supported Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, benefited.
According to his Justice Department interview notes, obtained by The Associated Press and not previously reported, lobbyist Neil Clark identified one group as Freedom Frontier. That same group that FirstEnergy received a $1 million contribution to in 2017 was branded internally as the “Husted campaign.” The donation was brought to light through documents filed by FirstEnergy shareholders and obtained through a records request by cleveland.com. Husted was running for governor at the time.
Dark money refers to political contributions flowing to certain nonprofit organizations whose donors are not required to be publicly identified. Coordination between those groups and candidates’ campaigns is generally prohibited by federal law.
Internal FirstEnergy communications from 2017 and 2018, which are evidence in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, include discussions involving Jones, Dowling and others about participating in the Husted programs as far back as 2016. They also reflect Dowling’s concern about dark money contributions becoming public.
Jones and Dowling also discussed strategies for contributing to alternative names. In July 2018, for example, as the two were planning a DeWine-Husted fundraiser in Naples, Florida, they discussed contributing under one name and covering event costs under another — so there would be “no costs billed to (the) campaign.”
Husted declined a request for further comment about the details of the various cases surrounding the bribery scandal.
“Sen. Husted has commented extensively with the media and testified under oath and has nothing more to add,” said his spokesman Josh Eck.
