1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to demand Senator Jon Husted's immediate resignation following revelations from the FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. His name has been mentioned over 100 times during proceedings related to Ohio's largest public corruption scandal, and the evidence demonstrates he played a central role in a scheme that cost Ohio families over $1 billion. The trial has exposed damning evidence of Husted's involvement. Phone records show nine calls totaling 51 minutes between Husted and FirstEnergy's top lobbyist Michael Dowling between November 19, 2018 and January 24, 2019. These calls occurred around the time Husted and Governor DeWine appointed Sam Randazzo to lead the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Just two months after his appointment, Randazzo received a $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy in January 2019. Husted then had a scheduled phone call with Randazzo on April 6, 2019, just two days before House Bill 6 was introduced. FirstEnergy executives described Husted as "a good friend of FirstEnergy" who was "highly engaged" and "fighting to the end" for the bailout. Lobbyist Neil Clark called him FirstEnergy's "golden boy." FirstEnergy admitted in 2021 to paying over $60 million in bribes to Ohio officials to pass HB 6, which provided $1.3 billion in consumer-funded subsidies to the corporation. Public records also show FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 as part of this corrupt scheme. Ohio families have paid higher energy bills because of this corruption. Husted's documented involvement in secret meetings, phone calls with indicted executives, and his active lobbying for this fraudulent legislation make his position untenable. Public trust has been shattered, and accountability demands his immediate resignation. I urge you to publicly call for Senator Husted to step down and to support a full investigation into his role in this scandal.