Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted distanced himself from executives in FirstEnergy testimony

On Wednesday morning, Sen. Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican, testified in the trial over the largest public corruption scheme in Ohio history, maintaining his distance from FirstEnergy management. However, there were some discrepancies between his testimony and public documents.

After he was unable to testify last week because of the war in Iran, Husted appeared Wednesday via Zoom in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

“Are you happy to be here?” asked Deputy Attorney General Matthew Meyer.

“I’m delighted,” Husted replied sarcastically, with no humor in his voice.

The senator made it clear that he was there to answer questions – and that was that.

“Are you here to defend them?” – Meyer asked.

“No,” Husted replied.

For the past five weeks, the state has alleged that former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and Vice President Mike Dowling paid former Utilities Commission Chairman Sam Randazzo $4.3 million in bribes and that $61 million was spent creating and passing Ohio’s House Bill 6. HB 6 was legislation to provide billions in aid to their struggling nuclear facilities, all at the expense of Ohio ratepayers.

In March 2023, a federal jury found that former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Republican Party leader Matt Borges participated beyond a reasonable doubt in this racketeering scheme, which left four men guilty and two dead by suicide.

Householder faces nearly three years of a 20-year prison sentence for accepting a bribe from FirstEnergy, while Borges is released after serving half of his five-year sentence.

“I thought both the defense and the prosecution did a good job with their testimony,” said Case Western Reserve University business law professor Eric Chaffee, reviewing today’s testimony. “Probably the person who did the best was Senator Husted.”

– Husted was well prepared – continued the expert.

“It is quite clear that he wants to distance himself as much as possible from the defendants and this case,” Chaffee said.

He also showed himself a lot of grace by saying he didn’t remember many times he was asked questions, Chaffee said.

During Husted’s hour-long deposition hearing, the defense tried to argue that FirstEnergy had no need to bribe Randazzo.

The defense argued that it was Randazzo, now dead, who was corrupt, not the former executives.

Randazzo, who faces dozens of charges in federal and state courts, became the second defendant in the scheme to commit suicide in 2024 after being indicted along with Jones and Dowling and pleading innocent.

Before Randazzo became a top regulator, he was a consultant to clients who were working with FirstEnergy and wanted to get a better deal from them (he was also a consultant for FirstEnergy).

Randazzo kept books for Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, a legal trade group.

The defense said FirstEnergy was simply paying off the former PUCO chair’s settlement funds owed to IEU-Ohio customers, but Randazzo stole that money from them.

Watch Husted’s full testimony below:

Elections

Defense attorney Steve Grimes used Husted to show that it was he and Gov. Mike DeWine who wanted Randazzo in power, not FirstEnergy, which wanted someone else.

“They advocated for Jason Rafeld,” Husted said.

The FirstEnergy team invited DeWine and Husted to a private meeting at the Athletic Club of Columbus in 2018 after they were elected.

Husted said he didn’t remember exactly what he, DeWine and FirstEnergy lobbyists discussed. He remembered that they wanted Rafeld.

He said he didn’t know that the executives then went to Randazzo’s home, where they allegedly discussed paying the bribe, Meyer said.

Randazzo then became Husted and DeWine’s choice.

“Randazzo himself was a lawyer representing utilities and consumers,” Husted said. “He was, he was considered an expert in the industry.”

Meyer said that when it became clear that Randazzo was the best candidate, FirstEnergy quickly endorsed him, pointing to the defendants’ behind-the-scenes connections to Randazzo, such as a $4 million bribe.

Meyer tried to give the jury a picture of the premises where the men met.

The Athletic Club of Columbus is essentially a members-only downtown country club with no golf course. According to Capitol Square lobbyists, it costs thousands of dollars to join. It has a wellness center, spa, bowling alley and even accommodation rooms.

After Husted downplayed the club’s elegance, Meyer pointed out the “wood paneling.”

“It’s not like Planet Fitness or something?” Meyer asked Husted.

“I’ve never been to Planet Fitness,” Husted said seriously, but it drew laughter.

Chaffee said prosecutors tried to show they were courted by someone.

Husted said he probably wouldn’t have supported Randazzo if he had known about FirstEnergy’s involvement.

“You wouldn’t want Ohioans to think that the person your administration selected to chair the PUCO had secret financial ties to one of these regulated utilities, would you?” Meyer asked Husted.

“I wouldn’t do it and they shouldn’t,” Husted replied.

“You wouldn’t tolerate a chair that was compromised by secret financial dealings with a utility company they regulate, right?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t do it and I’m sure the governor wouldn’t do it,” the senator replied.

However, we found some inconsistencies in Husted’s testimony and public records.

Discrepancies

For years, we have been uncovering FirstEnergy’s close ties to major political players. Our previous investigations found FirstEnergy executives say then-Lt. Gov. Husted worked closely with them to pass HB 6 in 2019 after they helped finance his campaign.

“There are inconsistencies between what he said and what some of the documents and investigative reports showed,” Chaffee said.

Husted claimed no knowledge of Randazzo’s busy relationship with FirstEnergy at the time, saying it was not disclosed to him. But he later referred to the “Randazzo Dossier.”

“I recall one of the other utilities sending a letter or something to the governor criticizing Sam Randazzo as a potential candidate for the position,” Husted said.

In a nearly 200-page document sent by a former colleague who worked for American Electric Power at the time, the dossier to Husted and DeWine stated that “PUCO applicant Sam Randazzo has non-transparent, undisclosed financial ties to FirstEnergy that should be thoroughly investigated and made public.”

The document was evidence of the submission of financial, legal and business documents.

“If you find a document that provides fairly direct evidence that contradicts what someone has testified to, there is reason to consider the veracity of the witness’s testimony,” Chaffee said.

Husted also testified that he did not remember how Randazzo’s name was mentioned for chairman, but Randazzo testified at a 2019 Senate hearing that Husted recruited him, according to a transcript of the meeting.

We asked the senator’s team for clarification, but received no response.

We move on with the fireworks

The defense is seeking to have the case dismissed, reiterating its continuing allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by the state.

“You wouldn’t want Ohioans to think that the person your administration selected to chair the PUCO had secret financial ties to one of these regulated utilities, would you?” Meyer asked Husted.

Grimes and Jones’ attorney, Carole Rendon, was immediately quick to object, calling the situation “unbelievable.”

“The witness’s question as to whether our clients should be held accountable for their actions was a premeditated and planned crime,” Grimes said. “It was intended to incite the jury; it was premeditated. I’ve never seen anything like this judge. I mean, he knew exactly what he was doing, and he jumped at it, crossed the line, jumped into it.”

He couldn’t understand how Meyer could think this was appropriate. The referee seemed to agree, but gave Meyer a chance to respond.

“The witness’s credibility was an issue and I definitely believe I had the right to investigate those issues,” Meyer said.

Judge Susan Baker Ross asked whether, after everything Husted said in agreement with Meyer during the hearing, she really believed Husted may have been biased against the defendants.

“Credibility is about many things,” he replied.

Was it worth asking this divisive question? Chaffee said of course.

“(These questions) are not uncommon in these types of trials,” Chaffee said. “It’s not uncommon to try to get witnesses to make the people who call them look bad.”

He understands why the referee shot him down and said the defense was intelligent to jump on him. He said Meyer’s “conduct” could potentially be used on appeal.

Although Husted’s testimony was mostly “unremarkable,” Chaffee said, it still had the potential to hurt him politically.

“When you’re trying to get elected and you’re associated with one of, if not the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the state, it really looks bad,” Chaffee said.

Husted is now a candidate in one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races this cycle.

In the pouring rain, a handful of protesters held signs outside the courthouse with the basic message: “You are corrupt.”

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau X AND Facebook.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.