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.

On Jan. 31, 2019, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) appointed Randazzo as PUCO chairman. During his confirmation hearing, Randazzo said that Husted and DeWine’s chief of staff Laurel Dawson were among those who recruited him for the position since he was contemplating retirement at the time. Court documents show that Dawson, whose husband was a FirstEnergy lobbyist, knew about Randazzo’s relationship with the company before he was appointed to PUCO. In November 2023, Randazzo was arrested and indicted on 11 federal charges related to the scandal. After pleading not guilty to all charges, Randazzo killed himself in April 2024.

Husted has repeatedly denied involvement or knowledge of the bribes, even after News 5 Cleveland obtained text messages in 2024 that show he was allegedly working for FirstEnergy’s interests before and after HB 6 passed. Husted’s gubernatorial campaign in 2017 also received a $1 million dark money contribution from FirstEnergy. Husted did not respond to a Heartland Signal media inquiry asking about his 2019 meeting with Randazzo.

Dowling and former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones are currently on trial for charges including bribery, racketeering and corrupt activity. The pair could face up to 20 years in prison. Husted and DeWine appeared in witness lists, meaning they could testify in the trial in the coming weeks. On Thursday, jurors viewed numerous messages and calls between Husted and FirstEnergy representatives. 

Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Tony Wen issued a statement after News 5 Cleveland’s Morgan Trau published the report, questioning what else Husted is hiding.

“Just days after reports revealed Jon Husted held secret meetings around HB 6, text messages between Husted and indicted executives surfaced in court — and his name was mentioned 24 times at trial,” Wen said. “Ohioans deserve answers about why Husted remains at the center of the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. What else is Jon Husted hiding?”

Ohio utility customers paid roughly $500 million because of HB 6. Last November, FirstEnergy was ordered to pay a combined $250.7 million in restitution to customers and civil forfeitures.

In 2023, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in passing HB 6. Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges was sentenced to five years in prison, but he was released last October after serving less than half of the sentence. Lobbyist Neil Clark faced charges for the scandal but also committed suicide in 2021.

Revelations of Husted’s deeper involvement in the scandal came the same week it was found that he accepted over $100k in campaign donations from billionaire Leslie Wexner, who was a named co-conspirator in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. 

DeWine appointed Husted to the U.S. Senate in 2025 to fill the remainder of JD Vance’s Senate term after Vance became vice president. He is running in a special election to complete the final two years of Vance’s term. Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is Husted’s probable opponent in 2026, declined to comment for this story. 

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