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Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted testified Wednesday from a remote location in a high-profile corruption trial tied to Ohio’s FirstEnergy bribery scandal, telling jurors he attended a 2018 dinner with then-Gov.-elect Mike DeWine and two former FirstEnergy executives who are accused in the case. Husted, who said he recalled little about what was discussed, testified that he was not aware of a plan for the executives to meet DeWine’s eventual choice for chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio immediately after the dinner.
Husted said he did not know exactly what the dinner was for and that he did not organize it, describing the purpose as a social stop because FirstEnergy would be in town and attendees wanted to “say ‘hi’ and congratulate us on winning.” He said DeWine was not feeling well during the meal, and he testified that he did not remember anything that was discussed at the dinner.
Husted confirmed the general topic of his conversations with the two former executives—Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling—was tied to progress on House Bill 6, a state bailout measure that prosecutors and the trial record connect to the alleged bribery scheme. Husted said he recalled little more than that and did not testify to any specific payment or quid pro quo being discussed during the dinner itself.
Special Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer pressed Husted on connections to people associated with DeWine’s transition, including Laurel Dawson, DeWine’s then-chief of staff, and her husband, Mike Dawson. Husted told the court that he knew Laurel Dawson and that he considered Mike Dawson a friend, but he testified that he was not aware Mike Dawson had been a consultant to FirstEnergy and that he had shared an office with Randazzo.
Meyer also questioned Husted about whether he knew that information allegedly exchanged within the DeWine-Husted administration had been shared with Dowling, and Husted testified that he was not aware of such information being shared. Husted described what he could recall about opposition to Randazzo’s eventual nomination, saying the only opposition he remembered came from American Electric Power.
Prosecutors and the case record treat the Dec. 18, 2018, dinner at the Athletic Club of Columbus as a key moment, and testimony referenced earlier and later contacts surrounding it. The record described that Josh Rubin—a FirstEnergy lobbyist and adviser to the 2018 DeWine-Husted campaign—was at the dinner, and it said Rubin had provided executives advice earlier that day on how to lobby DeWine on the company’s preferences for the regulator role.
The trial evidence also included texts tied to timing after the dinner. The next day, the record says Randazzo texted Dowling a list of figures for the years 2019 through 2024, writing “Total 4,333,333,” and Dowling replied “Got it, Sam,” adding “Good seeing you as well. Thanks for the hospitality. Cool condo.” The record further described messages between Jones and Randazzo in the following days, including a note from Jones that the executives were “going to get this handled this year, paid in full, no discount,” and Randazzo’s reply that it made him laugh and that the men were welcome to return.
Randazzo faced state and federal charges connected to the alleged scheme before his death in April 2024 by suicide, according to the trial context presented in court. Husted’s testimony also touched on DeWine officials’ handling of internal material about Randazzo, including a dossier that Laurel Dawson helped vet which urged DeWine not to choose Randazzo because of alleged closeness to FirstEnergy.
Husted testified that DeWine was not among those accused, and neither Husted nor DeWine has been accused in the case. His appearance came as Husted faces a retention bid later this year to keep the Senate seat to which he was appointed last year as a successor to JD Vance, with a challenge expected from Democrat Sherrod Brown.