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HUSTED TRIAL TRACKER: Husted Likely to Testify in Defense of  FirstEnergy in Criminal Corruption Retrial in September

April 9, 2026

Jon Husted at the center of the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history

Ohio families paying $663 more a year on utility bills thanks to Husted’s corruption

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a major new development, Jon Husted’s FirstEnergy nightmare is far from over, as he will likely be forced to take the stand again to defend his corrupt donors in the new criminal corruption trial set to start September 28, 2026.

Husted helped his donors escape accountability by testifying for the defense and 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 not ending anytime soon as prosecutors prepare to retry the case.

Throughout the first criminal 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 may have helped his corrupt FirstEnergy donors escape accountability for now, but September 28 is quickly approaching. This retrial will put the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history back in the spotlight, and remind Ohioans that Jon Husted was at the center of the scheme that sold them out to a big utility company and stuck them with skyrocketing energy 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.” 
  • 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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