COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted adamantly denied knowledge of the largest bribery scheme in state history after we discovered text messages from FirstEnergy executives alleging he led the push for House Bill 6. He also seemed aggravated by our follow-up question asking how he was ignorant of the plot.
FirstEnergy spent $61 million dollars in exchange for H.B. 6, legislation giving their failing utility company a $1 billion bailout.
This landed former House Speaker Larry Householder in federal prison for 20 years, and he is now facing state charges, as well.
This bribery scandal has been covered extensively by News 5's Morgan Trau, who followed the legislation all the way through the Statehouse, the arrests, trial, conviction and sentencing of Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges. She continues to follow it as the next group is indicted federally and by the state.
Recap
A public records request revealed both Gov. Mike DeWine and Husted’s ties to former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and VP Michael Dowling — the ones who helped fund their campaign.
Both DeWine and Husted have continuously denied any involvement, and law enforcement has not accused either of wrongdoing.
Last Sunday, new texts revealed that DeWine asked Jones for money, which he then received via a dark money PAC.
On Monday, I questioned why anyone should believe him that he didn't know about the corruption scheme.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine deflects questions about texts between him and indicted FirstEnergy executives
DeWine deflected questions about his relationship with the former FirstEnergy executives
On Tuesday, I discovered and reported on more texts alleging that he helped push forward H.B. 6 and got a playbook from FirstEnergy on how to convince others, according to FirstEnergy executives.
RELATED: New texts show FirstEnergy allegedly working with Gov. DeWine to pass House Bill 6
While DeWine is dealing with the ongoing discovery of text messages linking him to indicted FirstEnergy executives, Republican lawmakers are drafting legislation requiring greater campaign finance disclosure.
On Wednesday, the bill sponsor gave us the first look.
RELATED: Ohio Republicans draft bill to require campaign fund disclosure amid DeWine text message debacle
"My one takeaway from your story is — we need to get rid of all of it," House Finance Chair Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) said about dark money.
On Thursday, we reported that an indicted FirstEnergy executive plans to call Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to testify as witnesses in his criminal trial.
RELATED: FirstEnergy VP Dowling plans to call DeWine and Husted to the stand in corruption trial
After four days focused on the governor, I shifted the spotlight to the second-in-command: Husted.
On Friday, I discovered and reported on messages sent between Husted and FirstEnergy executives, in addition to a slew of texts and emails between FirstEnergy officials and lobbyists about Husted.
RELATED: New texts allegedly show Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted leading FirstEnergy's push for House Bill 6
Recap of texts
Husted frequently communicated with FirstEnergy execs before, during and after his campaign.
Once in office, records show that it was Husted, not DeWine, who allegedly helped lead the charge for the bailout bill.
Dowling emailed Jones before H.B. 6 passed in 2019, saying the governor “left the details of H.B. 6 to others — John [sic] Husted and Danny." Dan McCarthy was DeWine's legislative director after having been a lobbyist for FirstEnergy.
Along with McCarthy appearing continuously in the documents, so does John Kiani. Kiani was the executive chairman of FirstEnergy's subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions.
“Husted, Sam, Evans and Danny McCarthy are fighting to the end and we've been talking to them all day," Jones texted Kiani. "Everything that can be done is being done."
The other men Jones mentions are Randazzo and Matt Evans, a Householder ally and coal company executive basically working as a lobbyist.
Then came the Senate tax debacle. In short, FirstEnergy wanted subsidies for 10 years for their nuclear plants, while the Senate leaned towards six.
"Just had long convo with JHusted just now. Senate President called John [sic] twice during our two calls and he called me back twice. All is well. JH is working on the 10 years," Dowling texted Jones in early July 2019. "He's afraid it's going to end up being 8. Talk later."
"Matt needs to close the 10 with Larry and you or him with JH," Jones responded.
When the Senate was holding up H.B. 6's passage, Jones texted Householder.
"Husted called me 2 nights ago and was supposed to get it in the Senate version," Jones said.
"He’s not a legislator," Householder responded.
"I know, but he said Senate leaders would listen," Jones replied. "He didn't deliver."
While all of these policy discussion conversations are going on, Husted and FirstEnergy-affiliated people are texting, having meetings and talking on the phone dozens of times, according to call logs.
Although they aren't all dated, Husted's personal cell phone number comes up at least 30 times in call logs with Dowling and Jones — with many in 2019.
The above messages are just a sliver of the myriad of other messages about Husted helping FirstEnergy.
"You can read these texts and say 'this is nothing but politics as usual' or you can read them and say 'they know what they're doing and they're speaking in code in order to avoid the smoking gun,'" Case Western Reserve University law professor Mike Benza said.
DeWine was seemingly purposely left somewhat in the dark about the bribe, according to notes from Randazzo's federal indictment.
“Explain things like he doesn’t know anything about it — and be surprised when he does,” Dowling wrote about DeWine in a note for Jones. “Sometimes he knows what you’re talking about. Sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he does and pretends he doesn’t.”
On the flip side of that note, Dowling wrote that "Jon is getting some negative feedback," illustrating that he allegedly was a part of the conversation.
"It's either [DeWine] was clueless about what was going on both in the statehouse but even within his own administration, which doesn't look good or he knew what was going on, which makes him guilty," Benza said. "The lieutenant governor has that same problem and some of these text messages may make it even worse for him — that it appears that they targeted him as the person to do this in order to insulate Governor DeWine from any issue."
Months after the passage of H.B. 6, Dowling and Mike Dawson, a lobbyist, were texting about the possible 2026 gubernatorial race.
"In a Husted Householder primary who is FE for?" Dawson texted.
"Jon," Dowling responded.
Finding out why FirstEnergy would want Husted is something that could come out in trial, Benza said.
"Remember the way the politics in Ohio are structured, really, the power of getting things done is in the General Assembly," the professor said. "Sometimes muscle isn't a good leader."
Husted's reaction
At an unrelated press conference Friday, I was able to ask Husted about the texts.
"With FirstEnergy executives talking about you, relying on you to pass House Bill 6, why should people believe you that you didn't know about this scheme?" I asked.
"Well, first of all, everybody in the room may not have been around back when this all started, the Paris Climate Accords in 2000..." Husted started addressing zero-carbon energy.
He advocated publicly for the saving of nuclear power plants, he said.
"There is every reason to believe that they were gonna go out — if they had, we'd be in an energy deficit today, so it's important that they were saved," Husted continued. "That was a very public position I'd taken and I stand by that position."
"That has nothing to do with the texts about the bribery scheme," I responded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, seemingly exasperated. "We weren't involved. 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," he replied.
"How were you ignorant of their behavior then — you were talking to them, there were phone logs of you talking to them more than 20 times," I asked. "How were you ignorant of their bribery scheme?"
"I wasn't involved in it. That was Larry Householder and there are no texts between me and him," he responded.
Benza said there are a few reasons why Husted might not know.
"You don't ask," he said.
Or, you're kept in the dark.
"He sees that as normal political action," he said. "If you think it's good policy, then the money isn't why you're voting."
When I first talked to Benza about DeWine's texts, he said politics, as usual, was a legitimate argument, even if the optics weren't great.
"At least in the public documents — nothing shows that same type of quid pro quo going to Jon Husted or Governor DeWine," the professor said. "It certainly has the appearance of it, but there's no smoking gun in this type of a case yet... but I think they have to be worried."
Benza said the texts about Husted reinforce his point that Husted should be concerned.
"I think there's more here," he said. "But I'm not sure that this 'more' tips over to the ability of the prosecution to either even bring charges, let alone get a conviction."
Any politician in Ohio who has any connections to H.B. 6 has to be worried, he said. Whether or not you were involved in the scheme, your name is still attached.
This could put a damper on political ambitions, Benza said.
"Quite frankly, your biggest capital as a politician is your name and your reputation," he added.
Husted is expected to run for governor in 2026 against Attorney General Dave Yost — the man who indicted Jones, Dowling and Randazzo.
When I found the texts, I reached out to the AG's office to ask if they were aware of all of these texts prior to the publication, if they could raise to a level of campaign coordination and if the office is investigating the politicians.
The office declined to comment.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
