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JON HUSTED TRIAL TRACKER: New Calls Continue To Place Jon Husted At Center of FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal

February 23, 2026

Husted mentioned 58 times Friday, 96 times since trial began

New calls between Husted and FirstEnergy bribery defendant surface during corruption trial

Columbus, Ohio — Yet again, Jon Husted has taken the spotlight in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. New court testimony revealed nine calls between Husted and former FirstEnergy executive and “top lobbyist” Mike Dowling during the peak of the bribery scandal. Husted was mentioned 58 times during the trial Friday, shattering Husted’s record from earlier last week. 

The calls between Husted and Dowling happened around the time FirstEnergy paid a $4.3 million bribe to former Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo, emphasizing how Husted played a central role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history. 

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“It’s clear that Jon Husted was instrumental in the passage of HB 6 — from secret meetings, text messages, and now phone calls between Husted and FirstEnergy’s top lobbyist. Husted was mentioned 58 times at trial Friday, placing him at the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal. Ohioans continue to ask: what else is Jon Husted hiding?”

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

  • New evidence 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 reveals Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, 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 and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”
  • Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had dinner with Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus.
  • Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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