A up-to-date report shows that in seeking massive, corrupt aid for Ohio, Akron-based FirstEnergy also spent lavishly on Trump-backed obscure money groups and on hotels and golf courses owned by the former president.
The report found that Trump and his colleagues wanted to provide federal financial aid for the company’s coal and nuclear plants but hit a brick wall – first in the form of regulatory authority and then over public opposition to bailouts.
Made by the Institute of Energy and Policy, report is a deep dive into otherwise secret documents that were unearthed through the legal proceedings and legal proceedings surrounding the Ohio Bailout Scandal. Called one of the largest bribery scandals in Ohio historyFirstEnergy funneled $61 million through obscure money groups to pass $1.3 billion in ratepayer aid through a rigged state legislature and then shield it from popular opposition.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder serves, among others 20 years in federal prison as a result of his involvement, the former chairman of the state Republican Party, Matt Borges, becomes the leader serving five years and two others pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Then two other people were charged died by suicide.
The face of former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and vice president Michael Dowling state crime charges in connection with their involvement in the scandal. Testimony at last year’s federal trial in Cincinnati showed the couple desperately needed financial lend a hand wherever they could get it.
FirstEnergy made significant investments in coal and nuclear generation as the natural gas boom and the emergence of affordable renewables made it uncompetitive. In other words, FirstEnergy’s millionaire leaders made bad business decisions and wanted to avoid the consequences.
So by 2016, executives were trying to get funding for the plants so they could turn them around – and them environmental obligations – off.
Starting in 2015, FirstEnergy has already donated $1.25 million to the Cleveland Host Committee in support of the 2016 Republican National Convention in the city.
Then, nine days after Trump became the party’s nominee, FirstEnergy CEO Jones met with Trump on July 28, 2016, at Trump Tower. The two talked about electricity generation and how Trump could implement his “promise to save jobs in the coal sector,” according to the letter received by the Institute of Energy and Policy.
A low time later, Jones met Trump at a fundraiser in Canton, where Jones “explained to Mr. Trump that although I had been working behind the scenes to help his campaign, due to (regulatory proceedings) in Ohio, I was unable to be outside, and he completely understood that.” Jones said in an email detailed in the report.
The Trump campaign did not respond to questions for this story.
In delayed 2016, Jones and Dowling courted Householder at World Series games in Cleveland. And after Trump was elected, they flew the now imprisoned former speaker to Washington aboard a FirstEnergy corporate jet for Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.
By April 2017, FirstEnergy engaged Avenue Strategies, a lobbying firm founded by former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, to lend a hand it obtain “federal aid for nuclear and coal plants,” according to a report by the Energy and Policy Institute. The following month, Lewandowski left the company amid accusations that he was one violating federal lobbying laws by failing to register– “Polityka” reported.
Lewandowski, who is working for Trump again, later denied lobbying for FirstEnergy.
On May 1, 2017, FirstEnergy began to truly invest in its efforts by paying $5 million to America First Policies, a 501(c)(4) obscure money group founded and run by Trump supporters. The company financed its bribes in Ohio, among others pumping tens of millions through such groupsthat do not have to disclose their donors.
When Jones went on his charm offensive, he used FirstEnergy money to personally enrich Trump. His expense reports show that during a trip to Washington in July 2017, Jones spent $1,400 on drinks, another $5,400 on dinner and $900 on a room at the Trump International Hotel, as well as $400 on caddy fees at the Trump National Golf Club.
Spreading the word about FirstEnergy’s largesse, Jones had extensive contact with Trump officials. They include Vice President Mike Pence, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn, Chief Strategist Steven Bannon, White House Advisor Don McGahn, Energy and Environmental Policy Advisor Mike Catanzaro, and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Deputy Director Jeremy Katz. – according to documents collected by the Institute of Energy and Policy.
To save FirstEnergy’s power generation subsidiary from bankruptcy, then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry in September 2017 proposed authorizing special subsidies for coal and nuclear power plants.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the proposal in early 2018, saying it would allow turn wholesale markets upside down for generating electricity. In other words, the regulator said it would give unfair special treatment to FirstEnergy and other companies that missed opportunities in fracking and renewables.
In June 2018, Trump ordered Perry to utilize a provision of the Defense Production Act to support coal and nuclear power – a move that could cost as much as $11 billion a year. These efforts also collapsed as the (correct) public belief grew that both measures proposed by the Trump administration constituted aid for businesses, according to a report by the Energy and Policy Institute.
In 2018, Perry called on states to save their own coal and nuclear plants.
Ohio did just that with the corrupt House Bill 6. The host ran it through the captive Ohio Legislature, and Gov. Mike DeWine immediately signed it into law.
Prosecutors did not charge them with a crime, but DeWine, Lieutenant Jon Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost AND Secretary of State Frank LaRose all played a role in passing and protecting the billion-dollar rescue package that they have not fully explained.
For its part, FirstEnergy entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department, admitted wrongdoing and paid a $230 million fine. He fired Jones and Dowling and now claims to have up-to-date ethical standards.
However, he is accused by a group of institutional investors who are suing the plant trying to limit liability two former top executives, Jones and Dowling.
FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young was asked whether FirstEnergy believed it was appropriate to enrich Trump-allied groups and Trump personally by seeking financial aid from his administration. She was also asked whether it was appropriate for a regulated company to play, as Jones argued, a political kingmaker for the ratepayers it serves.
“While we are unable to answer your specific questions due to ongoing litigation, it is important to note that in early 2022, FirstEnergy Corp. has adopted a new Policy and Public Engagement Policy and Practice based on integrity and transparency to ensure compliance with the political and public engagement principles of the Board, officers, employees and those acting on behalf of the company,” Young wrote in an email. “The positions we will take will be consistent with the company’s core values and responsibilities to shareholders and other stakeholders.”
She added: “FirstEnergy, led by a renewed board and executive team, has taken significant steps to move the company forward and put the problems of the past behind it. Today, FirstEnergy is a different, stronger company with a sound strategy, a highly effective compliance program and a company-wide culture of ethics, integrity and responsibility.”
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