U.S. Supreme Court upholds the conviction of top Jon Husted ally
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld the conviction of one of Jon Husted’s top allies in the FirstEnergy corruption scheme — the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history — proving this political headache isn’t going away for Husted anytime soon.
As a reminder, Jon Husted remains at the center of the massive scandal, with new reporting from the Associated Press revealing Husted’s ties to be much deeper than previously known. Previous reporting has already uncovered phone calls, text messages, and secret meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives, and Husted was forced to testify for the defense in a state criminal trial.
Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is another reminder that Jon Husted remains at the center of the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, and it’s costing Ohioans thousands of dollars more on their utility bills. As more details come to light about Jon Husted’s deep ties to the corruption scheme, Ohioans deserve accountability and answers about how deep his involvement goes.”
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Associated Press: Republicans plan big spending to keep Ohio’s Senate seat. A bribery scandal adds to their challenges
- As he seeks to retain his U.S. Senate seat this fall, Ohio Republican Jon Husted has been unable to escape the shadow of a $60 million bribery scandal that has roiled state politics for more than five years.
- Husted was recently called to testify as a defense witness in the related criminal trial of two former energy executives, testimony he might have to reprise after a hung jury led to a mistrial in the case in March.
- A judge in Akron scheduled the retrial to begin Sept. 28, meaning Husted could be back on the witness stand a week before early voting begins for the November elections.
- Husted calendars that came to light during the recent trial involving executives for the utility, Akron-based FirstEnergy, showed a number of additional meetings or phone calls that he had with former CEO Chuck Jones, with the state’s former top utility regulator, who has since died, and with then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.
- The interactions noted in Husted’s calendars were around the time the bailout bill was being developed and passed. Evidence presented in various cases showed Jones and Dowling discussing a push by Husted for additional subsidies in the legislation.
- A longtime Ohio lobbyist told federal agents that FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions, the subsidiary that owned the nuclear power plants helped by the bailout, funneled dark money to nonprofits that benefited Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican.
- According to the notes from his Department of Justice interview obtained by The Associated Press and not previously reported, lobbyist Neil Clark identified one of the groups as Freedom Frontier. That was the very group that received a $1 million contribution in 2017 marked internally by FirstEnergy as “Husted campaign.”
- Internal FirstEnergy communications from 2017 and 2018, which is evidence in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, include discussions involving Jones, Dowling and others about attending Husted events as far back as 2016. They also reflect Dowling’s concerns about dark money contributions becoming public.
- Jones and Dowling also discussed strategies to contribute under alternate names. In July 2018, for instance, as the two were planning a DeWine-Husted fundraiser in Naples, Florida, they discussed contributing under one name while covering event costs under another — so there would be “no cost billed to (the) campaign.”
- Husted declined a request for further comment about the details that have emerged as the various cases surrounding the bribery scandal play out.
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.”
- 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.
- A dinner between Jon Husted and the indicted 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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