1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to demand Senator Jon Husted's immediate resignation following revelations from the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. Husted 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 days before House Bill 6 was introduced on April 8, 2019, Husted had a scheduled phone call with Randazzo, who had received a $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy in January 2019 and is accused of authoring the bailout bill. 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 FirstEnergy Corp. 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, his financial connections to FirstEnergy, and his active role pushing the bailout make his position untenable. I urge you to publicly call for Senator Husted's resignation and support a full investigation into his role in this scandal. Ohioans deserve leaders who serve the public interest, not corporate interests that bribe officials.