ICYMI: Jon Husted Under Fire For Dodging Testimony in FirstEnergy Criminal Corruption Trial

March 9, 2026

News 5 Cleveland: “Next week, the defense is set to call Senator Jon Husted to the stand… [Morgan Trau] is asking why Senator Husted may not be able to testify in Ohio, but can campaign here”

Ohio families paying $663 more a year on electric bills thanks to Husted

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In case you missed it, Senator Jon Husted is under fire for refusing to testify in person to explain his role in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. Husted was at the center of the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history, which delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities and contributed to energy rates for Ohioans increasing by $663 a year.

Husted’s lawyers claimed he must remain in Washington due to the “outbreak of war in Iran.” That excuse fell flat when he was spotted traveling through airports in both Washington and Columbus to attend a swanky fundraiser where tickets went for as high as $1,000.

Husted has already been mentioned more than 100 times during the corruption trial as new developments continue to surface, including phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives.

What Ohioans are reading about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

News 5 Cleveland: Sen. Husted can’t testify in person in corruption trial due to ‘Iran War,’ but did come to Ohio for fundraiser

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted can’t leave Washington, D.C., to testify in the largest public corruption trial in Ohio history due to the “Iran war,” the defense attorneys said, but did find time to return to the state to attend a fundraiser.

Our previous investigations have shown that FirstEnergy executives say that then-Lt. Gov. Husted worked closely with them to pass H.B. 6 in 2019, after they helped fund his campaign.

But Husted, who doesn’t sit on any committees related to safety, military or foreign affairs, can’t find time to return to Ohio to testify, according to Grimes and the defense. Well, he did.

“Senator Husted, are you flying home to testify?” a woman can be heard asking on a cell phone video, which can be watched in the player at the top of this article.

The woman, who does not work for an Ohio politician or candidate, showed the senator getting into the security line at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C. on Thursday.

In another video sent to us, a man found Husted walking in the John Glenn Columbus International Airport that same evening. The senator ignored the Ohioan, who repeatedly asked about FirstEnergy.

We discovered that the senator is set to attend a fundraiser on Friday. Husted is the keynote speaker at the Greene County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, where tickets were up to $1,000.

Ohio Capital Journal: Husted can’t testify in person in corruption trial due to Iran war, but came to Ohio for fundraiser

Our previous investigations have shown that FirstEnergy executives say that then-Lt. Gov. Husted worked closely with them to pass H.B. 6 in 2019, after they helped fund his campaign.

But the senator’s testimony won’t be at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. It will be hundreds of miles away.

“Given the war, his availability is not great,” Dowling’s defense attorney Steve Grimes said in court.

“[He should] explain to Ohioans what he means by unavailable or dealing with the war, if he’s in fact here in the state raising money for his embattled Senate campaign,” state Sen. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, said. “It’s despicable, and I can’t think of a more significant breach of trust.”

Weinstein was a state witness in the trial and believes that Husted just doesn’t want to deal with the publicity.

“I’m not surprised he doesn’t want to show up in person,” the lawmaker said. “He’s so deeply intertwined in this whole case, but it’s incredibly disappointing.”

Heartland Signal: Jon Husted won’t testify in person for FirstEnergy trial, but he’s flying to Ohio for a fundraiser.

A judge ordered Wednesday that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) must testify in the FirstEnergy bribery trial.

Lawyers claimed he cannot attend in person because he needs to be in Washington D.C. due to the ongoing war with Iran. However, he traveled to Ohio to attend a fundraiser on Friday.

Husted’s office did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the news of his testimony or clarify why he was traveling to Ohio while Dowling’s lawyers are claiming that he needs to be in Washington.

Husted’s calendar shows he met with Randazzo days before HB 6 was introduced in the state legislature.

Husted also had nine phone calls with Jones after he was elected. Jones’ text messages also suggest Husted was acting on FirstEnergy’s behalf to pass HB 6.

TiffinOhio.net: Husted ‘can’t testify’ in corruption trial in person, but flew home for $1,000-a-plate fundraiser

Defense attorneys told a Summit County judge that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted couldn’t leave Washington to testify in person in Ohio’s largest public corruption trial because of the military campaign against Iran. Then he flew home for a fundraiser.

Video obtained by WEWS showed Husted in the security line at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday. A separate video showed him walking through John Glenn Columbus International Airport the same evening.

He was scheduled to serve as keynote speaker Friday at the Greene County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, where tickets were priced as high as $1,000.

He was called as a defense witness, not a prosecution witness.

Husted’s name has come up more than 100 times during the trial, which cited phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives.

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