Republicans plan big spending to keep Ohio’s Senate seat. A bribery scandal adds to their challenges

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — As he seeks to retain his U.S. Senate seat this fall, Ohio Republican Jon Husted has been unable to escape the shadow of a $60 million bribery scandal that has roiled state politics for more than five years.

Husted was recently called to testify as a defense witness in the related criminal trial of two former energy executives, testimony he might have to reprise after a hung jury led to a mistrial in the case in March. A judge in Akron scheduled the retrial to begin Sept. 28, meaning Husted could be back on the witness stand a week before early voting begins for the November elections.

The former lieutenant governor and Ohio secretary of state has never been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing. But the vast public record that has emerged from the scandal has raised questions about Husted’s dealings with key players who have been indicted or imprisoned in the scheme, which revolved around legislative approval of a $1 billion bailout for the state’s two nuclear power plants.

It’s too early to know whether Husted’s association with the trial will be a political liability for the first-term senator, who in the fall is expected to face Sherrod Brown, a Democrat ousted from the Senate in 2024.

In a potential sign of concern, Senate Republicans’ main super political action committee, the Senate Leadership Fund, recently announced plans to spend $79 million on Husted’s behalf. That’s roughly one-quarter of its planned national spending in eight tightly contested Senate races.

Husted says he had no role in the bailout bill

Asked in 2022 what role he played in the bailout legislation, known as House Bill 6, Husted answered, “None.” He has reiterated that stance many times since, even as evidence disclosed in the case has raised questions about his involvement.

Husted calendars that came to light during the recent trial involving executives for the utility, Akron-based FirstEnergy, showed a number of additional meetings or phone calls that he had with former CEO Chuck Jones, with the state’s former top utility regulator, who has since died, and with then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. They formed the triangle of influence at the heart of scheme as laid out by federal prosecutors. Husted’s calendars were obtained by the Ohio Capital Journal through a public records request and have been reviewed by The Associated Press.

Jones and former FirstEnergy lobbyist Michael Dowling were charged for their alleged roles in the bribery scandal and will be retried in the fall. Householder is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2023 of orchestrating the scheme, which FirstEnergy has admitted to underwriting.

The interactions noted in Husted’s calendars were around the time the bailout bill was being developed and passed. Evidence presented in various cases showed Jones and Dowling discussing a push by Husted for additional subsidies in the legislation.

Husted has consistently denied that he played a role in creating the legislation as well as having any knowledge of criminal activity surrounding the bill.

In an NBC4 interview in January, Husted said, “My role was very clear. I wanted the nuclear power plants to remain operational.” He said it was “about keeping those plants open and keeping the lights on for millions of Ohioans.”

Husted referenced in a text exchange about subsidy negotiations

In June 2019, Jones texted Dowling screenshots of a conversation he had with Householder that suggested Husted was working on FirstEnergy’s behalf to extend the term of the nuclear plant subsidies from six years to 10 years.

Jones urged Householder to “negotiate hard” for 10 years of subsidies or he would be forced to revisit the issue again before his speakership ended. “Ugh, that adds $600M,” Householder wrote about an additional amount that has not been previously reported. The bill called for charging Ohio ratepayers $150 million a year in nuclear subsidies.

“Husted called me 2 nights ago and was supposed to get it in the Senate version,” Jones replied.

“He’s not a legislator,” Householder replied about Husted, who was by then the lieutenant governor.

“I know but he said Senate leaders would listen,” Jones replied. “He didn’t deliver.”

The texts were part of evidence gathered in Householder’s criminal trial. When Husted has been asked previously about the exchanges, he has been adamant that they do not prove he was part of the deal-making.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We weren’t involved,” Husted said when asked about the texts during an unrelated news conference in 2024. “Texts to other people — texts to other people shared amongst themselves — have nothing to do with me. And I wasn’t involved in that conversation.”

Cases surface utility donations to benefit Husted

A longtime Ohio lobbyist told federal agents that FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions, the subsidiary that owned the nuclear power plants helped by the bailout, funneled dark money to nonprofits that benefited Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican.

According to the notes from his Department of Justice interview obtained by The Associated Press and not previously reported, lobbyist Neil Clark identified one of the groups as Freedom Frontier. That was the very group that received a $1 million contribution in 2017 marked internally by FirstEnergy as “Husted campaign.” The donation was brought to light through documents filed in a lawsuit by FirstEnergy shareholders and obtained through a records request by cleveland.com. Husted was a candidate for governor at the time.

Dark money refers to political contributions flowing to certain nonprofit organizations whose donors do not have to be publicly identified. Coordinating between those groups and candidate campaigns is generally prohibited by federal law.

Internal FirstEnergy communications from 2017 and 2018, which is evidence in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, include discussions involving Jones, Dowling and others about attending Husted events as far back as 2016. They also reflect Dowling’s concerns about dark money contributions becoming public.

Jones and Dowling also discussed strategies to contribute under alternate names. In July 2018, for instance, as the two were planning a DeWine-Husted fundraiser in Naples, Florida, they discussed contributing under one name while covering event costs under another — so there would be “no cost billed to (the) campaign.”

Husted declined a request for further comment about the details that have emerged as the various cases surrounding the bribery scandal play out.

“Sen. Husted has commented extensively with the media and given testimony under oath and doesn’t have anything additional to add,” said Josh Eck, his spokesperson.