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Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

Toledo, Ohio — Last week, Ohioans in Toledo called out Senator Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files.

The rally in Toledo follows mounting criticism from across the state. Earlier in the month, Ohioans protested outside Husted’s Columbus office, calling on him to return all the contributions from the Epstein co-conspirator. Ohioans in Norwalk also called out Husted for being a “pedophile protector,” and Husted declined to answer questions — instead turning his head and refusing to respond.

Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

See for yourself: 

WTOL: Ohioans protest outside Husted’s Toledo office over donations tied to Les Wexner

• WTOL Anchor: Several people gathered in protest today against Senator Jon Husted outside of his office in downtown Toledo. The protesters say they are calling out Senator Husted for accepting more than $116,000 in donations from Les Wexner, a suspected associate of Jeffrey Epstein.

• Lisa Sobecki, Lucas County Commissioner: I think it’s important that people’s voices are being heard on this, because I am a grandmother of a daughter. I’m a survivor, a rape survivor. I’ve met with many that are rape survivors. I’ve met with many that have been trafficked, and this to me just shows them that we’re not going to just sweep this under the rug and ignore it.

Toledo Blade: Demonstrators stage protest outside U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Toledo office

• Participants condemned Mr. Husted, citing news reports that he has accepted $116,000 in campaign contributions throughout his political career from Columbus businessman and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner. Mr. Wexner has been tied to Epstein.

• The news conference was led by Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobecki, a Democrat who at one point made a passing reference to when she was raped in her 20s.

• “I really wish we didn’t have to be here in these times, having these conversations,” Ms. Sobecki said. “We have an election coming up soon. And we should be electing folks that aren’t going to be supporting people that support people that are pedophiles.”

• “To be quite honest, I’m really disappointed to be here today. I’m disappointed that it takes this [demonstration] to implore our elected officials to do the right thing,” said Elle Cotterman, an Ottawa Hills mother of three who also holds a degree from Ohio State University’s college of engineering.

• She and others noted that he initially voted to block the Epstein files in July, then voted to release them after President Trump instructed lawmakers to do so.

• Neither Mr. Husted nor his campaign spokesman responded to repeated requests for comment.

WTOL: Ohioans protest outside Husted’s Toledo office over donations tied to Les Wexner

• Protesters gathered outside U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Toledo office Thursday, calling on him to return more than $116,000 in campaign contributions they say he received from Les Wexner, who has been described as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein.

• During Thursday’s rally, demonstrators questioned why Husted has not returned the full amount. Organizers claim the senator previously said he would give Wexner’s money back but has so far returned only $18,900, roughly 17% of the total, while keeping the remaining $98,000.

• Protesters asked why a portion of the money was deemed problematic but not the rest, and accused Husted of avoiding accountability. The group also questioned why he has not responded publicly to their concerns.

• The Toledo protest follows similar demonstrations at Husted’s Columbus office last week. Organizers say residents in Norwalk also confronted the senator, alleging he declined to answer questions.

• Husted’s office did not immediately respond to WTOL 11’s requests for comment Thursday.

Stay Tuned Sandusky: Coffee House patron calls Sen. Jon Husted a ‘pedo protector’

• Husted was appearing with Huron County Commissioner Harry Brady on Tuesday when the carefully managed atmosphere evaporated. 

• As Husted moved through the coffee house, a patron called out, “You’re a pedo protector.” Husted did not respond. 

• While the Reflector and the Register reported on the outburst, the event was far from open. No other media outlets were invited, and Husted’s office has continued a policy of blacklisting local news, refusing to place StayTunedSandusky.com on its press lists or schedules.

• The “pedo protector” shout points directly to the growing firestorm over Husted’s ties to Ohio billionaire Les Wexner. The confrontation occurred just as Wexner was being deposed by a House committee over his decades-long association with Jeffrey Epstein.

• During that testimony, it was revealed that Wexner funneled over $116,000 into Husted’s various campaigns. Husted’s office announced he would donate his most recent Wexner contributions to a human trafficking charity. 

• The timing is telling: the “charity” move only happened after the Norwalk confrontation and the release of unredacted FBI files labeling Wexner a “co-conspirator,” which made Wexner and his money a political liability.

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Husted at center of ongoing FirstEnergy corruption trial, mentioned more than 100 times

Columbus, Ohio — New reporting reveals that Senator Jon Husted “led the charge” to pass HB 6, the scandal-ridden bribery legislation that has contributed to Ohioans’ electric bills, rising by an average of more than $660 since the bailout passed in 2019.

As the FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial continues, Husted’s ties to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history continue to deepen — with new phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings placing him at the center of the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

Read more about the latest revelation on Husted’s role in the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal: 

TiffinOhio.net: Husted backed the corrupt HB 6 bailout. Ohio households now pay $663 more a year.

• U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who is running to keep his Senate seat in Ohio’s 2026 special election, allegedly played a central role in passing a utility bailout law that sits at the heart of the state’s largest-ever corruption scandal — and that has contributed to Ohio households paying $663 more per year for electricity in the years since.

• The financial toll is direct and documented. When House Bill 6 took effect in October 2019, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio recorded the average monthly residential electric bill at $89.19 — $1,070.28 annually. By January 2026, that figure had climbed to $144.47 per month, or $1,733.64 per year. The difference: $55.28 per month, $663.36 per year.

• Text messages and internal emails released in 2024 show that Husted allegedly led the charge with now-indicted FirstEnergy executives to pass the bill, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

• A FirstEnergy email stated that Gov. Mike DeWine “left the details of H.B. 6 to others — John [sic] Husted and Danny,” referring to Husted and Dan McCarthy, DeWine’s legislative director and a former FirstEnergy lobbyist.

• House Bill 6 passed in 2019 and authorized a $1 billion ratepayer-funded bailout of the state’s nuclear power industry, with monthly surcharges paid by every Ohio residential electricity customer. 

• Federal authorities later revealed it was secured through a nearly $61 million bribery scheme — described by U.S. Attorney David DeVillers as “the largest bribery money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”

• HB 6 required Ohio residential utility customers to pay a monthly surcharge of between $1.30 and $1.50 […]. From 2020 through August 14, 2025, Ohioans paid $527,808,043 in OVEC subsidies specifically under HB 6’s Legacy Generation Rider.

• According to PUCO’s January 2026 Unit Costs data, the average Ohio household now pays $144.47 per month for electricity — $1,733.64 annually, based on the commission’s standard estimate of 750 kilowatt hours of monthly residential usage. 

• When HB 6 took effect in October 2019, that same household paid $89.19 per month, or $1,070.28 per year.

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

• New evidence at 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 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.”

• 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.

• Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had a dinner with FirstEnergy executives Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus that has become a focal point of the current criminal trial.

• 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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REPORTING: Husted Took $116,892 From Les Wexner, Including A Max Donation Just A Few Weeks Before Blocking Epstein Files Release

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

Toledo, Ohio — Today, Ohioans called out Senator Jon Husted outside his Toledo office for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. 

Ohioans demanded answers to questions that Jon Husted refuses to answer:

• Jon Husted said he was giving Les Wexner’s money back, but now he’s keeping 83% of the money. Why did Husted lie?

• If the $18,900 Husted took from Les Wexner was a problem, why wasn’t the other $98,000? 

• Why won’t Jon Husted return all the money? Does returning 17% of the campaign contributions Husted received from an Epstein co-conspirator make keeping the rest okay?

• What else is Jon Husted hiding? This shows Jon Husted can be bought and cannot be trusted. 

The rally in Toledo follows mounting criticism from across the state. Last week, Ohioans protested outside Husted’s Columbus office, calling on him to return all the contributions from the Epstein co-conspirator. Ohioans in Norwalk also called out Husted for being a “pedophile protector,” and Husted declined to answer questions — instead turning his head and refusing to respond.

Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

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Columbus, Ohio — Jon Husted reached a new milestone yesterday — his 100th mention in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. As the trial continues, Husted’s ties to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history continue to deepen. 

Throughout the trial, new phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings have surfaced between Husted and indicted FirstEnergy executives, underscoring Husted’s pivotal role in the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

Here are the latest revelations on Husted’s role in the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal: 

Heartland Signal: Jon Husted had deeper ties to Ohio’s largest bribery scandal than previously thought

• New reporting from News 5 Cleveland revealed that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) met with one of the architects of Ohio’s largest bribery scandal two days before bribery legislation was introduced in the state legislature.

• A public records request shows that Husted had a scheduled phone call with former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Chairman Sam Randazzo on April 6, 2019. Two days later, House Bill 6 was introduced in the Ohio legislature.

• HB 6 provided $1 billion in consumer-funded subsidies to FirstEnergy Corp., an electric utility company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. 

• In 2021, FirstEnergy admitted to federal prosecutors that it paid more than $60 million in bribes to Ohio officials to pass HB 6, including $4.3 million to Randazzo in January 2019.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Husted had 9 calls with FirstEnergy exec accused of bribery, records show

• U.S. Sen. Jon Husted talked with a FirstEnergy executive nine times around the time prosecutors say the executive and his boss paid a $4.3 million bribe to the man Husted and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine chose to lead the state’s energy regulatory body, trial testimony showed Friday.

• Husted’s calls came in late 2018 and early 2019, months after he was elected Ohio’s lieutenant governor on DeWine’s Republican ticket. That was around the time the two landed on appointing Sam Randazzo as the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

• Husted spoke for a total of 51 minutes with FirstEnergy’s then-top lobbyist, Michael Dowling, in the calls made from Nov. 19, 2018 through Jan. 24, 2019. Randazzo was appointed to the commission in February 2019 and began work in April of that year.

• The phone records were displayed and read into the record in the trial of Dowling and former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones.

Columbus Dispatch: DeWine, Husted messages to execs come into focus at FirstEnergy trial

• Jurors viewed text messages and emails on Feb. 19 showing that high-ranking elected Ohio officials worked behind the scenes to pass the $1.3 billion nuclear bailout — House Bill 6 — and appoint Sam Randazzo as Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chair.

• In another message, Dowling said DeWine and Husted performed “battlefield triage” to get Randazzo elected as PUCO chair.

• In the lead-up to July 23, 2019, when lawmakers approved HB 6, Dowling spoke to Husted, who wanted to extend the bailout.

MeidasTouch News: Husted Pushed Energy Bill at The Center of Largest Public Corruption Scandal in Ohio History

• While Lt. Governor, Republican U.S. Senator Jon Husted pushed for an energy bill in Ohio that was at the forefront of the biggest public corruption scandal in the state’s history.

• New reporting has revealed that Husted “helped lead the charge” to pass HB 6, with FirstEnergy executives writing to each other that Husted was “a good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the measure. 

• Even before coming to office, Husted had been “lobbying [Ohio Governor Mike] DeWine to support the [FirstEnergy] bailout” and was described by FirstEnergy’s CEO as “a good friend of FirstEnergy.”

• Then, according to Husted’s own calendar, on October 10th, 2019 Husted had a previously unscheduled call with Ohio Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• Randazzo is accused of authoring the bailout bill after taking millions in bribes from FirstEnergy. Randazzo had been appointed to his position by DeWine with the backing of Husted.

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

• New evidence at 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 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.”

• 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.

• 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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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.”

• 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.

• 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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