BREAKING: Jon Husted Helps Corrupt FirstEnergy Executives Evade Justice As Additional Trials Loom
March 31, 2026
Husted testified for the defense in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, was mentioned 386 times during the trial
Ohio families paying $663 more a year on utility bills thanks to Husted’s corruption
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, Jon Husted’s close allies responsible for the FirstEnergy bribery scheme, former executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling, escaped accountability with a hung jury — all thanks to Husted’s help.
Husted took the stand as a witness for the defense and spent his testimony trying to protect the corrupt FirstEnergy executives responsible for the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. But scrutiny around Husted’s central involvement in the bribery scandal is far from over as prosecutors are expected to retry the defendants.
Throughout the trial, Husted was mentioned 386 times as testimony made clear that he was at the center of the massive bribery scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities and contributed to electricity costs for Ohioans increasing by $663 a year. When Husted was forced to answer questions under oath, his testimony only raised more questions about his own role in the scandal.
Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:
“Jon Husted took the stand in the largest corruption trial in Ohio history for one reason: to defend his corrupt FirstEnergy allies and help them evade justice. Jon Husted sold Ohioans out to protect the masterminds of the bribery scheme. Because of Husted’s corruption, families across Ohio are paying hundreds of dollars more on their utility bills.”
As a reminder, Jon Husted played a central role “running the show” in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history alongside Dowling and Jones:
- New evidence during the 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 revealed Jon Husted held secret meetings with Dowling and Jones, 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, Dowling, and Jones reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”
- Convicted 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.
- A dinner between Jon Husted and the convicted FirstEnergy executives at the Athletic Club of Columbus was a focal point of the criminal trial.
- Public records show that FirstEnergy — led by Jones and Dowling — 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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