Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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 questionable excuse for not testifying in person

Summit County Judge Susan Baker Ross, who is overseeing the trial against former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and lobbyist Michael Dowling, said Husted will testify via video call on Wednesday from 8:30-11:00 a.m. EST.

On Wednesday, Dowling’s defense attorney Steven Grimes asked Ross to allow Husted to testify via video, arguing the senator needs to be in Washington D.C. because of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. The next day, Husted was spotted heading to the Greene County Ohio Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in Fairborn, Ohio. Tickets for the event range from $47 to $1,033.

A report from News 5 Cleveland’s Morgan Trau showed video of the senator flying out of Washington on Thursday evening. Husted’s spokesperson Josh Eck told News 5 that the senator’s team never said he needed to remain in Washington for the war, and that they offered multiple dates for him to testify in person.

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 role in the scandal

Although Husted has not been charged, reports have shown he has ties to the men involved in the scandal, which defrauded roughly $500 million from Ohioans. While Husted was lieutenant governor in 2019, he helped recruit Sam Randazzo to be the state’s Public Utilities Commissioner. Prosecutors argue that Jones and Dowling gave Randazzo a $4.3 million bribe to help push through House Bill 6, a bill passed in 2019 which gave FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout for its nuclear power plants.

Husted’s calendar shows he met with Randazzo days before HB 6 was introduced in the state legislature. Randazzo committed suicide in 2023 after he was raided by the FBI and charged with 11 felonies, including conspiracy to commit bribery. Randazzo has also been accused of stealing millions before he was nominated by Gov. Mike DeWine (R).

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.

Democratic response

The Ohio Democratic Party senior communications advisor Tony Wen said Ohioans deserve to know the extent of Husted’s involvement in the FirstEnergy scandal.

“Jon Husted has been mentioned more than 100 times in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history — and now that he’s finally being called to testify, he is refusing to show up in person to answer for his role in the scandal,” Wen said. “Ohioans deserve to know why Jon Husted sold them out to a big utility company and left families paying hundreds more each year on their energy bills.”

Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), Husted’s probable opponent in Ohio’s Senate election this November, responded to the news on social media, and called for Husted to be held accountable for his involvement in the state’s largest corruption scandal.